The List
by Animiga
Summary: A sequel, of sorts, to The Resurrection. Three months later, mutants are being targeted. There's no pattern, but Mutant X must stop the violence before it hits too close to home. Includes OCs. COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

**Title:** The List

**Author:** Animiga  
**Rating:** PG-13, just to be safe.  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own any part of Mutant X. At All. I'm just playing with the characters. All rights belong to whoever _did_ create them.  
**Spoilers: **Just about everything. It also makes reference to my story "The Resurrection." You might want to read that first, otherwise the story might seem a little out of left field.**  
Archive: **Sure, but please ask me first  
**AN: **Reviews make me happy!

**Summary: **A sequel, of sorts, to "The Resurrection." Mutants are being targeted. There's no pattern, and Mutant X must stop the violence before it hits too close to home. Includes OCs.

* * *

Prologue

_"Jesse? What's wrong?"_

_"Harrison's here."_

_"Damn. Look, it'll be all right. Remember last time? You said he just had you run on a treadmill while he took readings. It's probably more of the same thing."_

_Peter could hear the tense mental sigh that Jesse gave. "You're right. It'll be fine. We'll get through this. What time is it? When is Jacobs coming back?"_

_"Well, the clock on the wall says 4:30, so he'll be back in half an hour. We've finished the last cycle, so I don't know what's happening today. God, I hope he doesn't make me –"_

_"Hey!" Jesse's voice interrupted his thought. "Hey, like you said, we'll both be fine. Look, when these mad scientists get finished with us, we'll play a game of chess, ok?"_

_Peter smiled. "Deal," he said to his friend across the mental link they shared. "That always helps." Peter tried to keep his mental voice upbeat. The games of chess that they played in their minds never failed to help them recover from what ever had been done to them._

_"Oy. He called me Mr. Kilmartin again. I hate it when he does that. Why do they all do that? It's like they think being polite makes what they do okay."_

_Peter chuckled, his facial features betraying nothing of his mental conversation with Jesse. They were both careful to keep their link secret; their lives depended on it. He wished Jesse good luck, and closed the link as far as he dared. Both of them always kept the link open, at least a small bit. Jesse was his only friend here at Genomex; they helped each other through the experiments and trials, made everything bearable. Jesse was the one person he trusted right now...and he had never seen his face. A wave of sadness washed over him. Based on observations they shared, they knew they were in the same pod room together, but on opposite sides. Peter wasn't sure how the link between them had been established. Although he was a psionic, Jesse wasn't. Best has he could figure, it was because Jesse was the one other person he had touched, when he had been thrown into that dark room when he first arrived six months ago. It had been six months, right? Since that day, there had been a strong link between them. They kept each other sane in this horrible place._

_It was exactly 27 minutes later when Peter heard the scream. His eyes darted around the room, searching for the source, but he found nothing. The three lab assistants that he could see remained at their stations, calmly analyzing data, or whatever it was that they did. He felt his stomach twist as his mind wrapped around the source of the anguished scream. "Jesse? What's wrong? What's happening?!"_

_"Peter..." The voice was soft. But it wasn't his voice that was weak; they didn't use their voices to talk to each other. It was his mind, the link between them. It was fading._

_"I'm here. What's going on?!"_

_"Sorry, looks like no chess match..." The link faded, and then it was gone._

_"JESSE!" Peter beat his fists against the pod's plexiglass face shield. "Where are you?!" Peter searched his mind, searching for the link to Jesse, the link that had kept him safe and sane, the link to his friend. "JESSE!"_

"Well, well. Feisty today. Good. I've got a new little project. This will be the last one, too, so let's get started."

_The voice drew Peter's attention. The voice belonged to Dr. Jacobs. The door to the pod slid open and Jacobs' gloved hands drew Peter's weak body from the plastic prison. Peter ignored the pushes and shoves his body received from Jacobs' gloved assistants. His mind was back on trying to regain the link with Jesse. This had never happened before. The link was always there; even during the more torturous of sessions, even when they had been knocked unconscious by them, even in sleep, the link was still there. Now, its comforting presence was gone. For the first time, Peter realized what it meant._

_Oh, God. He was gone. There was nothing left. He felt a surge of anger run through his body. A screen of white flashed across his mind. He screamed, trying to counteract the pain. It coursed through his body. He could sense nothing. Only the pain. There was no way to tell how long it lasted, but it was incredible. When it was finally over, he felt his body sag. His body sobbed, screaming for breath. When it eased, he opened his eyes._

_He was on his knees. All around him was a bloody mess. The instrument tray lay scattered across the floor. One assistant had a pen through her neck. Another had been strangled by stethoscope; the body's eyes bulged obscenely. Peter struggled to his feet and backtracked. Oh, God. What had he done?_

_A few more steps back and Peter managed to turn around. Then he ran. He ran from the blood, from the death, from the pain, from everything. He ran. He ran for his life, not sure of where he was going, and not caring. He ran._


	2. Welcome Back Life

AN: Wow! Almost a dozen reviews! Thank you sooo much. As for daily updates…maybe. I've got a lot of other things on my plate right now, so updates might be every 2-5 days, but, as always, I'll shoot for one a day. But no promises! And to answer a couple questions…  
  
_Laily_: Jesse dead? Obviously not here, but…well, that would give it away  
_Jessiah Eberlin:_ Mason Eckhart? Hmm. Maybe in a future story. Maybe… .

* * *

Chapter 1: Welcome Back Life

* * *

****

"Honey, I'm home!"

Katie chuckled at Jesse's joke. "I'm at the desk, Jesse," she called in return.

A few moments later, Jesse appeared in the open room. He slipped his backpack of his shoulder and dropped it against the side wall of the alcove. He ruffled Katie's hair and peered over her shoulder. "How's everything here?"

"Good, good. Did you get Tyrone settled okay?"

"Yeah. I planted a couple of surveillance cameras and traps at his apartment, too. The next time those goons try to get him, they'll be trapped until the police get there."

"Which safehouse did you take him too?"

"I took him to the one off Center Street in New York. It'll be a nice change of pace from Charleston. He took to Monica right off."

Katie laughed. "I'm sure she appreciated that." Monica preferred an alternative lifestyle – she was a lesbian and unashamed of that fact. Most guys though, thought she looked 'normal,' and hit on her left and right. Monica usually found a humorous way of showing those men the error of their ways.

"Yeah, well, I think she likes coming up with new ways to knock those guys down a peg or two. But she'll have him well into the mutant underground by this time tomorrow. That reminds me: we need to improve the visual and audio security around that place. Nicky said she could smell people hanging around outside."

"Are you sure it's not just a bunch of teenagers or drug-dealers?"

"Not really, but she said that there was something different about these people. He said they smelled too clean to be transients. Something was just 'off,' she said. Given that she's a canine feral and has a sense of smell even better than Shalimar's, I'm inclined to believe her. So I upped the camera scanning frequency and linked it to the alarm system here at Sanctuary while I was there."

"Hmm. I'll make sure I add that stuff to the 'shopping list.' Hey, how's the Helix flying?"

"Good, good. Not bad for a first solo jaunt. I think we've got all the kinks worked out. The only problem came when we passed through the jet wash of a 737 near Dulles. I had it on autopilot and the program didn't compensate for the turbulence. We got a little shaken up, but we're in one piece."

"Can you fix the problem?"

"Sure. I'll put Shalimar on it tomorrow. She knows every centimeter of that thing." Jesse paused to take a bite of her half-eaten apple – her healthy snack of the day – on the napkin on her left. "I was surprised that she remembered so much from the specs of the other Helix. I didn't think she had the patience for that kind of detailed work."

"Well, she did say she prefers flying. I guess she wants to make sure the damn thing works. But it's good to know that you and Tyrone are okay." Katie paused for a moment, focused her gaze on Jesse. "Wait a sec. He wasn't injured, was he?"

Jesse laughed and shook his head. "No, he wasn't. We were just tossed from our chairs. And if this is a roundabout way of asking me if I healed his genetic structure, the answer is no. He's a psionic, and his expiration day isn't for another two years. I wasn't even tempted to."

Katie raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, okay. I was. But I didn't do it. I'm following the rules." He put the apple down and backed away, reaching down to retrieve his bag. "Has everyone else already taken off?"

"Yeah. I was just helping Shalimar with the logistics for the updates to the Chicago safehouse. Adam's already turned in. He said he was going to go visit Keith Burstyn tomorrow, see how his research is coming. Is he one of the scientists from Genomex?"

"Sort of. He used to work for the Dominion, but got out when they double-crossed him. Adam put him into the mutant underground, and has him working on the DNA animation aspect of genetic stabilization. Anyway, are you sure you don't want to come with us? We're gonna hit Altos and Sundown. I know you love the Sundown's cosmopolitans."

"Yeah, I know. No thanks, though. I've got a meeting with David at 9:30 and I'm actually running late."

"Another one? This late at night? Are you sure it's just a meeting?" Jesse poked her in the side teasingly.

She scooted away from the jabs as she closed the spreadsheets on the computer. "Yes, I'm sure. He's been working late closing a deal and doing the quarterly reports for Kilmartin Enterprises. This is the only time we both have free, and I need to check in with the legal side of things."

"Hmm. Well, from the look on your face every time you mention his name, my guess is you'd like him to be more than a friend and legal confidant."

Katie punched his arm.

"Okay, okay. Big brother Jesse will keep his nose out, for now. But I want to meet this guy before you guys start picking out curtains."

Kate gave a half laugh, half scoff. "I want you guys to meet him too. I think you guys would like each other. You're both workaholics. I've got to get him out of the office first."

Jesse chuckled. "Well, good luck, then. I'm going to grab a quick shower before I head out. If you change your mind, you know where we'll be."

"Yeah. Have fun with Lex-aaa." She let a smirk enter her tone as she spoke to Jesse's back.

Jesse paused for a moment, but then waved a hand and continued on toward the bathroom. But he was blushing, as he knew she knew he would.


	3. Rocks, Water and Hard Places

AN: Yay! I got more reviews! Thank you all! Some of you have asked "where's peter? Who's peter?"…Well, that's a surprise! But I didn't forget about him!

* * *

Chapter 2: Rocks, Water, and Hard Places

* * *

Peter blinked his eyes as his mind returned to awareness. Damn. Not again. The blackouts were coming more often. This was the sixth time in as many days. He slowly dragged his torso up, sitting back on his heels, careful not to incur the wrath of his ever-present foe, the migraine. When there was no pain or dizziness, he moved again, this time reaching out for and finding something to help him drag himself upright.

He managed to uneventfully make his way the 10 feet needed to reach the place where he could sit down. Checking his watch, he groaned. It seemed as though the blackouts were lasting longer too. This one had lasted almost 15 minutes. He glanced through the window. Thank goodness it was late and there was no one around. Last time it had been close. He had regained his senses just in time to see a woman across the street about to step in to late afternoon traffic. She had stepped back just in time, wondering what had prompted her to walk into the middle of fast moving traffic. Peter knew, though. It was because of him. He had to control these blackouts somehow. Already, two people were dead. Two innocent people. He'd do whatever it took. He had to stop the blackouts, or more would die.

* * *

* * *

There were three short knocks, then one loud thump.

Katie stood in the doorway as she watched David Yoltz, lead counsel for Kilmartin Enterprises, pull his head up from under his desk. The three short knocks had been her, rapping on David's wooden office door as she opened it, announcing her arrival. The loud thump had been David, or rather his head, thumping against the underside of his large oak desk, surprised by her arrival.

"Katie! Is it 9:30 already?"

"Actually, it's almost 10, David. I was running late. What were you doing on the floor? And what happened to your window?!"

David blinked, as if he couldn't remember why he'd been on the floor. He second question drew his attention to the window. And saw why he had been on the floor – the large spider web of cracked class that was now his window. He looked back at Katie. "Oh, I, uh, dropped my pen." He pulled out the pen he always kept in his back pocket and showed it to her. "It's the last one of its kind right now. They're the cheap kind, but they're good, and I have a tendency to lose pens and the new order from Office Depot isn't due in until Monday."

Katie raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking. "I remember. And Natalie always seemed be a magnet for pens. I always figured when the two of you were together you'd be left writing with quill and ink."

"Yeah, well, I was down there when this bird flew right into the window. Scared the hell out of me. Then you knocked." He rubbed the back of his head absently. "That's when I hit my head on the desk."

Her eyebrow rose higher, if it was even possible, as she glanced at the window and then back at him. "A bird? This late at night?"

David listened to her words as his gaze focused on her raised eyebrow. He had seen her do that many times before. He still hadn't figured out exactly what the look meant. Basically, it could represent anything from amazement to annoyance to disbelief to deep thought. He shook his head and stood. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about Katie, though he had found himself doing so more and more in recent weeks. _It's only natural. We've been seeing more of each other recently,_ he thought. Anyway… He drew himself to his full height of 6'1". "Hey, don't ask me about the strange habits of pigeons. They're the one's that eat bubble gum off the ground. So, what can I do for you?"

"You called me, remember. You said you had the quarterly reports for me and wanted to go over a few things."

"Right." He reached out to the left side of the desk for the two thick reports he had placed there earlier. He handed one to her. "Would you like to take a seat," he asked, indicating one of the visitor's chairs across from his desk.

Katie draped her coat and purse over one of the chairs and settled into the other, folding her slim legs so she was sitting cross-legged in the chair. "So what's the verdict?"

David skimmed through the pages of the report. "Well, uh, okay. Your review and approval of the charities selected by the board has to be done by Wednesday. Also, you need to be made aware of the plan to restructure accounting and the potential legal repercussions."

Katie listened to him list off half a dozen things other she needed to do. She took in the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble that lined his cheeks. "How long have you been in the office, David?"

He lifted his head and stared at her. "What?"

"When is the last time you took a break? I know the quarterly review has me running ragged and I don't have nearly the agenda that you do. When's the last time you ate?"

"Around noon, I think. It's been a long day."

"Why don't we get some dinner, then. We can make it a working dinner," she said before he could interrupt and give her his spiel saying he didn't have time for a social relationship. She sighed internally. She wanted to be closer to David, but for as long as she'd known him, he'd never really been close to anyone. In fact, she and the mutual friend through whom they had met were the closest friend he had. She knew nothing of his family. He never mentioned them.

She, David and Natalie Richards had been each other's closest friends during her college years. Natalie had been on the swim team with David at Duke University. Katie had met them when they had come to Cambridge together for graduate school. Natalie became her roommate at Harvard. Katie was in her freshman year, Natalie was starting her master's degree in mathematics, and David was starting at Harvard Law. They had studied together – using each other for sounding boards for their different disciplines. Throughout the three years that they had been close, Katie had never known David to have a girlfriend – she had initially thought that he and Natalie were seeing each other, but that had been shot down when Natalie started dating another guy – or known him to have other friends. The man was a loner. But something about the way he acted gave her the impression that it wasn't what he wanted. Something had happened and he had a reason for his relatively solitary existence. The flash of memories lasted only a few seconds while David made his decision.

"Yeah," he sighed. "That actually sounds good. Kill two birds with one stone."

"At least this bird is metaphorical. It can't do any damage. We'll take my car." She stood, shrugged into her coat and moved toward the door. "I presume you didn't drive today, either."

"Nope." He flipped the report shut and stuffed into his briefcase before moving toward the door. "Took the train."

"Why do you even have a car?"

"Just in case."

"In case what?" She reached for his coat, hanging on a hook by the door, to hand to him.

He saw where her gaze was turning – the doorframe – as she reached for the coat. Anxious to keep her from seeing the _real_ cause of the broken window, David quickened his pace the last few steps to the door, interrupting her motion, and grabbing the coat before her eyes could settle on the doorjamb.

She tossed him a look, silently questioning his unusually quick movements.

A dry chuckle escaped his lips. "Sorry. This hook has a, uh, a trick to it. If you don't lift the coat off just right, you can rip a huge hole in it."

"O-kay. So, do you have any preferences? Chinese? Italian? Thai?"

"Chinese?"

"Sounds good. There's this really good place down on…"

Her voice faded as they left the room, one of his hands hovering over the small of her back, leading her from the room. With the other hand he switched off the lights and ran his hand over the two small round holes on the doorjamb. They were so close together – the two holes were tangent to each other. They must have been low caliber bullets, given that they didn't pass through the wall. It was lucky for everyone else in the office that it was late at night, and no one else had been in the office. _He_'d been _damn _lucky he'd stubbed his toe on the corner of the desk when the first bullet came through the window. He'd already been on the floor when the second one struck. He'd also been lucky that Katie was running late otherwise she might have been hit. He spared one more glance at the broken window him, then shut the door behind him.

* * *

* * *

"Well, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

David smiled as he opened the door to Katie's tiny, fuel-efficient car. "No, it wasn't. Thanks for making me get out of the office. I guess I was hungrier than I thought."

She started the car and pulled into traffic. He was happy; dinner had been pleasant, and the work hadn't taken nearly as long as he'd thought. After they pushed it aside, they ended up just talking for the next hour or so. They talked about banal things like the weather and the annoying way road construction increased in the summer. They talked about more controversial things, like the upcoming presidential election. They laughed about the funny commercials and events they had seen. It was nice to be with someone again. Sitting in the car with her, the only sounds the sparse traffic, was comforting. He pushed aside the nagging voice in his head that told him it was dangerous to be here, and leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. The exhaustion that he had been holding back all week started to creep in and he yawned.

"Are you going to get some sleep tonight? Tomorrow's Sunday, and you don't have to go into work. At least, you shouldn't anyway. You shouldn't have even been at work today."

He chuckled lightly. "No. I promise I won't go in to work tomorrow. One scolding a night is enough."

She turned off the freeway, onto as street running parallel to the Delaware River, coming closer to David's small rental in the older area of the city.

"Hey, what happened with that death certificate you asked me about? Did you want me to get started on overturning it?"

"Huh? Oh, um. Never mind, actually. I was researching the wrong person. Same name, different birth date."

He frowned. She was distracted. Not a good combination at night on a road with few streetlights. "Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. This car's tailgating me though. Has been since the freeway."

David turned in his seat to get a look at the car. All he able to see were the headlights. "Yeah. He's too close. And he's got his high beams –"

David didn't have a chance to finish his sentence. The car behind them suddenly accelerated, ramming into the back of Katie's car.

"Hey! What the hell does he think he's doing?" Katie glanced into the rearview mirror, swiftly returning her concentration back to the road in front of her and moving back into her lane.

There was a roar. The driver of the car behind them had gunned the gas again and pulled alongside. David saw a glint. "Get down!"

He jerked his upper body down below the level of the window, pulling Katie's shoulder with him, just as three shots sounded, and both the driver and passenger windows exploded, raining glass down on their heads. Katie thoughts moved quickly. She flipped a switch, turning on the cruise control, then slipped her hand beneath the seat, lifted a lever and pushed her seat back, allowing her to get her entire body down around the steering column and below the window. The only problem now was that she couldn't see where she was going. There was no way she could lift her head to see; sparks were flying and metal pings still echoed in the whistling air. She heard the harsh crackle of broken glass as the back windows blew out. The other car had fallen back, and was behind them now. There was no way to stop the car without being rammed by the other guy. She didn't know what to do.

David seemed to read her mind. "Just keep the wheel straight! I know this road," he shouted over the noise. "It stays straight for another mile or so." His head cracked against the glove compartment as the car suddenly jerked forward again. It was as he was shaking the stars from his vision that he realized the bullets had stopped flying. The other car was now trying to run them off the road. The shooter must be out of bullets. The car jerked again, violently, this time sliding to the right. "Shit!"

"What? What the hell his happening? Why are they shooting at us?" Katie's voice was high and urgent, but controlled.

"I have no idea why. But a couple more hits like that and they'll knock us into the river. This time of year, that is not a good place to be!"

"Well, any ideas?" Her teeth clenched of their own volition as they were hit fourth time.

"Yeah, one. When I tell you, shift into neutral, hit the brakes and jerk the wheel hard to the left."

Katie's eyes widened as she realized what she would be doing, but she nodded her head. Well, she nodded as best she could in the cramped quarters. She wasn't sure she saw him, so she said. "Got it. Neutral, brakes, left."

"Okay. Keep you head down." David slowly lifted his own head, peering over his shoulder, looking through the now missing back window. He squinted in an effort to see around the blinding high beams, and managed to see the outline of the car. He saw it moving closer, jerking to the right, moving in for another bump. "Now!"

His world swung wildly as Katie executed his instructions. The car spun around and he felt his body flung into the passenger door and the street lamps whirled. The screech of tires assaulted his ears and the smell of burning rubber wafted into the car. He prayed that whatever kept the door shut hadn't been damaged by the bullets. The car shuddered when it came to a stop, rocking and facing the other way. Katie gathered herself for half a second, then flipped the car in gear and took off in the way they had come. David swung around and looked out the back, just in time to see their attacker crash into the flimsy railing he had been trying to run them into. The rail collapsed under the force. The car, slowed by the impact, teetered for a moment, but it was too late. It was already halfway over the edge. The car tipped, and fell into the river with a strangely quiet splash.

David sat back into the seat, and looked over at Katie, who had watched in her rearview mirror. "Should we go back? See if there's anything we can do?"

Katie looked at him for a moment before moving her eyes back to the road. "No. If the driver's still conscious, who knows what other weapons he has. But we'll call it into the police as an anonymous tip. Use your cell phone. Those calls are routed to the state dispatcher and can't be traced."

He nodded and reached for his coat, now lying on the floor in the back seat, and grabbed his cell phone. He heard Katie's voice speak softly.

"This wasn't some accident. They were trying to kill us"

He flipped open the phone. "I know. But we can't report this to the police."

She was surprised by the vehemence in his tone on that last statement, though she already agreed with his assessment. "No, we can't. They don't have the resources to move fast enough to investigate a case like this."

He dialed, and put the phone to his ear. "Turn right here. We can get to my place this way."

Katie shook her head. "No way. Until we know what's going on, and which one of us was the target, you're staying at my place. There's much more security there. And I think it's time I introduced you to some friends of mine."


	4. The Twists

* * *

Chapter 3: The Twists…

* * *

The next morning, David rinsed his mouth after brushing his teeth with a brand new toothbrush – picked up at a 24-hour drug store on their way to the mansion – and stepped out of the bathroom. He moved down the hallway, past Katie's office, in time to hear Katie's side of a conversation over the phone.

"We're fine, Lexa. The car's in the garage. If you could run an analysis on it…I don't know, maybe you'll find a slug fragment or paint chips on the fender or something."

Katie looked up and saw David in the doorway. He stood there for a moment, sure she would ask him to leave. Instead, though, she waved her hand, indicating for him to enter.

"David called the police anonymously. I'm sure there will be a report on it…it takes that long to file reports? Yeah. Well, that does make sense. But still… Okay. How about we do lunch then?" She laughed. "Yeah, I do sound like a businesswoman. I've been spending too much time at the office. Okay. I hope this was a random, one-time thing, but just in case, you know? Hey, do me a favor and don't tell… Yeah, he's got enough on his plate…Really? I wonder what's going on out there… Yeah, I will. I'll see you then. Good luck."

David watched as she hung up the phone and sat back in her over-sized office chair. Again, she was sitting cross-legged in the chair. "Did you find the towels?" she asked.

He smiled and sat down on the couch. "I did. Who was that?"

She stood up and moved over to the couch. "That was Lexa. She's a friend of mine and has contacts everywhere. Where she doesn't have contacts, she'll just breaks in."

David choked back a laugh. "You do realize you're telling this to a lawyer, right?" His eyes followed her as she walked the length of the room before returning to the couch and sitting down beside him. "You could be incriminating yourself here."

She fiddled with her hands, examining her fingernails, before looking back up at him. "Are you sure you have no idea why those people were trying to kill you?"

She saw David waver. Then, to her complete surprise, he put an arm around her shoulders and drew her into his body. "I'm sure it was completely random. For all we know, whoever was in that car was looking for someone else and went after us by mistake. Look, we'll just wait and see what your friend can find. When are we meeting her?"

"Tuesday. She said the police report would be the best way to get information without being noticed, but Philadelphia police have 24 working hours to file their reports, which means even a preliminary report won't be filed until Tuesday morning, since it's the weekend." She finally let herself relax in his embrace. The experience was new, but definitely not unwelcome. She leaned her head on back on his shoulder, breathing in his scent.

"There's nothing we can really do until then. We'll just have to go about life normally, okay?"

"Okay," she mumbled.

David looked down at Katie, whose head was now lolling on his shoulder. She was already falling asleep. She must have had a long day too. And now her body was coming down from an adrenaline rush, fueling her need for sleep. He could feel her body relaxing.

His wasn't though. He didn't think he'd get any sleep tonight, either. Twice in one day, he had almost been killed. Added to the near mugging Thursday and the mild food poisoning unique to his food on Monday – mild only because his lunch had been interrupted by business – and it was clear that someone or something was after him. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it. He hoped her friend Lexa could find something.

* * *

* * *

"Hey Jess, are you sure this is the place."

Back at Sanctuary, Jesse quadruple checked his information. "It's got to be. It's the only place that matches the description she gave me."

"If you say so, bro."

"Be careful, Brennan. We're going ahead in the dark, here, so watch your back."

"Always." Brennan thumbed his comring off and moved with Shalimar around the corner.

It was now Monday afternoon, and Brennan and Shalimar were in Indianapolis, hoping to find a new mutant who had been attacked in her home. Yesterday, more than a dozen of their automatic flags, placed in public and private computer networks across the globe, had been triggered, setting off alarms in the system as well as sanctuary itself. All five of them had spent the entire day working their way through those systems, trying to figure out what exactly had triggered the flags. What made the task complicated was that they seemed to have been activated for no specific reason. It wasn't until late in the evening that Jesse had found the virus. It had been uploaded to a corner of sanctuary's mainframe via one of the safehouses – constant rerouting had made it impossible to determine which one – and been activated remotely. This wasn't the first time Sanctuary's computer system had been hacked – after all, no system was perfectly safe – but it took a lot of skill to break into their system. They all counted themselves lucky that the damage hadn't been worse. Lexa, Jesse and Adam had managed to create a patch, and now they were working on a complete manual system diagnostic.

Unfortunately, just as that calamity had been resolved, Monica called from the New York/Center safehouse, saying Tyrone had gotten a frantic call from a friend, a fellow mutant he had lived with for several years. Her home had been raided, she'd been accosted at work and she was being followed everywhere. Tyrone told them that she, Ariah Benoz by name, had fled to the home of another friend – Don Vries – in Indianapolis. Now, Tyrone was unable to reach that friend. Given the fact that the three friends had a history of staying in close contact with each other, Tyrone said, this was cause for concern. Then, an hour ago, Ariah had managed to reach Tyrone. She was able to give a description of a building at the intersection of Shepoquie St and Ralston Ct, and then the line was cut off. Now, Shalimar and Brennan were creeping through the area – which housed mostly abandoned tenements – looking for any sign of the missing mutant. So far, they hadn't found anything.

They approached the building that closest matched the description, looking around for anything that seemed out of the ordinary as they did so.

Reaching the dilapidated building, Shalimar pushed on the door giving entry into the building. When it didn't move, she gave it a soft kick with her heel, just hard enough to open the door without causing it to swing open wildly and crash against the wall.

Brennan looked at the dingy staircase and railings, both in disrepair – much like the rest of the building. "I hope there aren't any kids living in here? They're likely to fall right through those things."

Shalimar chose not to react to his comment – there was nothing she could do about the situation, even if she completely agreed with him. "Come on. Let's start on the ground level and work our way up."

The two searched for open doors and checked with residents who were home. No one had seen anyone matching the description Tyrone had given them or had heard about a strange girl or someone named Ariah. They were climbing up to the second of the seven floors when they heard a loud clatter from above. Followed by a deep yell and a high pitched scream

Shalimar looked at Brennan. He was looking back at her. "The roof," they said almost simultaneously. In a flash, they were racing up the remaining stairs, soon slamming through the door marked 'ROOF – RESTRICTED ACCESS.' Shalimar, with her lighter feet and body, led the way, kicking through the door leading to the top of the building. They squinted their eyes and raised hands to block out the sun, so bright after having been in the darkened building.

Shalimar's eyes adjusted faster. The moment she got onto the roof, her mind was open, taking in the details of the situation. The next moment, it had switched to defense mode. "Hey!"

She charged forward, just as Brennan focused his vision. What he saw instantly caused his adrenaline levels to skyrocket. Shalimar had charged and was already attacking two large men. They were near the edge and one of them had a gun. Thankfully, he saw, they had made the mistake of underestimating the petite blond. One was already staggering, reeling from the kick Shalimar had delivered to his hands to disarm him. Brennan built up a tesla coil, but then paused before hurling it at the other man. The guy was too close to Shalimar. He needed time in order to create and toss a closely controlled coil the situation required, and he didn't have that kind of time. Instead, Brennan shut of the juice and charged as Shalimar had. He reached the second guy – Shalimar was busy delivering a right hook to the first man's jaw – just as he was trying to attack Shalimar from behind. Brennan blocked the man's swinging hands and planted his foot in his stomach, shoving the man to the ground. Now that there was a sufficient distance between them, Brennan let loose a sharp blast of electricity, enough to knock the man out cold for several hours, just shy of the amount of current that would stop the human heart.

That done, he turned to help Shalimar, only to see that, as usual, she didn't need it. One final kick, and the man was down on the ground, unconscious and moaning.

"What happened?" Brennan asked.

"I'm not sure," she said, her breathing still steady. "These guys were looking off the edge. When we showed up, they just started charging. You okay?"

"Yeah. These guys didn't put up much of a fight." Brennan watched her move to the edge of the roof, where the guys must have been when they came on the roof. She peered over the edge, and Brennan saw her eyes flash yellow, as they often did when she tapped into her feral senses. He came up to her side just as the glow dissipated. When he could see her eyes again, he saw sadness. He followed her gaze and sighed, realizing what she had seen, and slammed his hand against the sidewall. "Damn. If we'd been just _two_ minutes faster."

"I know," she said, putting a hand on his arm.

"Brennan? Shal? You guys there?" The voice over the communications system was clear, as always.

"Jesse."

"Yeah, listen, have you found Ariah yet?"

"Yeah, we did. She's dead."


	5. And the Turns

* * *

Chapter 4: …And the Turns

* * *

Back in sanctuary, Jesse rubbed a hand over his jaw on hearing Shalimar's news. "Damn." He wanted to send his fist through the wall – a massed fist, so he could do a lot of damage. Shit. It was always hard when a mutant died, especially when there had been a chance to save them. There was no time for grief now. There was important news to relay to the team in the field.

"Listen, guys, there's not a lot of time. I need you guys back in the air."

Shalimar and Brennan glanced at each other, curious, but started making their way back down the stairs, hearing the urgency in Jesse voice. "What is it, Jesse?"

"Tyrone was contacted by his friend Don – they guy Ariah was going to. He said that someone's been following him for the past three days, but it wasn't until this afternoon that someone took some shots at him while he was walking up his front porch. I need you guys to pick him up and bring him in."

"Got an address?"

"I sure do." Jesse rattled off an address 10 miles from their present location.

Brennan frowned. "This makes three mutants in three days. What's going on, Jess? Any connection?" Brennan asked as he and Shalimar exited the tenement and turned toward the Helix.

"I don't know, but I'm already on it. Good luck."

* * *

* * *

Within ten minutes, they had arrived at the address Jesse had given them. They hurried from the landing site to the house, both of their minds still on how close they could have been to saving Ariah. Every second had counted then; it counted now. And so they ran.

At last, they reached the address, a neat, split-level condo painted a gray-blue with white shutters. They passed the garage door as they moved up the walk to the front door. Shalimar ran her fingers over a line of bullet holes marring the garage door's metal surface. She glanced at Brennan and he nodded. She didn't have to tell him to be careful. Anyone using a weapon that left a trail like that on a metal door meant serious business. Shalimar put her hand on the doorknob, testing it. Dan was smart. The door was locked. But he obviously hadn't had been worried about security for long. The old door only had one lock, which Shalimar easily bypassed, giving it a hard push with her feral strength. Entering cautiously, Shalimar scanned the room, all senses wide open. Brennan stood ready with a ball of sparks in his hand. After what had happened earlier in the day, neither was taking any chances. Shalimar held up one finger, and then pointed to the door at the end of the hallway. Brennan increased the intensity of the sparks and they both moved closer.

Shalimar reached for the door. She held up three fingers, then two, then one. She then jerked the door open.

And was surprised to find a shotgun barrel aimed directly at her face.

Instantly, she had her hands in the air, indicating that she meant no harm. The man with the gun looked to be her own age, perhaps a little younger. His hair was dark, almost black, with a slight wave to it and his eyes were a muddy green. And they were full of fear, not malice. She had seen that instantly, which was why she hadn't moved to disarm him yet. "Easy, we're not here to hurt you."

"Who are you?" The barrel of the gun darted to Brennan, then back to Shalimar.

"Easy, man. We're here to help you. I'm Brennan, and this is Shalimar. We're from Mutant X. Tyrone sent us. Are you Dan?"

He nodded. The hands holding the gun relaxed, but did not lower the weapon. "Tyrone. He said he'd send someone. Have you found Ariah?"

Shalimar looked at the floor for a moment before looking back at Dan. "I'm sorry," was all she said.

And it was enough. Dan understood. A mist spread over his eyes and his face crumpled for a moment before he stoically straightened his features. His voice broke for a moment when he spoke. "We were all at Genomex together. Been friends ever since."

Brennan reached out a sympathetic hand towards Dan. "I'm sorry. Why don't you put that gun down and we'll get out of here."

Dan lowered the gun to his side, his movements reminiscent of a man surrendering to defeat. "Yeah, okay. You guys got a plan? You know where we're going?"

"We're going to make you disappear for a while. We've got a friend who's really good at that," Shalimar told Dan, ushering him out of the room and back toward the front door. The sooner they got out of there, the less time they were exposed to whoever was tracking Dan and the more control they'd have over the situation.

They were in the living room when the hail of bullets penetrated the front window. At least a dozen bullets sailed over their heads as they all instinctively dropped to the floor.

"That's an automatic assault rifle!" Brennan shouted over the noise of shattering glass and splintering wood. "There's no way to tell how many guys are out there."

"They'll have to pause to reload! Dan, is there another way out of here?"

"Back to the other room. There's a balcony window that opens into an alley. That leads to the old park down the street."

"Perfect," Brennan said, crawling on his belly, army style, across the room and back to the hallway. "That's where we parked our ride." He stopped crawling. They didn't have they time to crawl all the way down the hallway. The assailants could storm the building before they got out. "We're gonna have to run. You ready?"

Dan nodded, and three seconds later, when Shalimar gave the order, the three of them quickly rose to their feet, and, ducking low, ran back the way they had come. Just before they rounded the corner, their assailant resumed fire, and Shalimar heard Dan cry out.

She paused and looked back to see him still upright, but staggering. She doubled back and lifted one of his arms over her shoulder, helping him along.

They made it through the window, and with both Brennan and Shalimar helping Dan along, the three of them made it back to the Helix without further incident. There was no one chasing them. Whoever had been shooting at them was either content that his attack had already succeeded or didn't care enough to pursue them. Shalimar doubted the latter, not with the kind of firepower he'd had, and hoped it was the former, rather than a third reason she couldn't fathom.

While those thoughts raced through her head, Brennan jetted into the pilot's seat and launched the aircraft immediately, engaging the stealth camouflage at the first possible moment. Shalimar helped Dan into one of the seats and looked him over. The scent of blood was clear, but with Dan's dark clothing, it was hard to spot the source. Finally she found the source, a small round hole in Dan's chest, just under the ribcage. She quickly put pressure, staunching the flow of blood. As gently as she could she leaned him forward, checking his back, and found the exit wound. Surprised at his silence during her ministrations, Shalimar looked at his face. Dan's eyes were closed, and his features were tight. His body was tense; he wasn't unconscious. He was fighting the pain, depending on her to help him. Shalimar found her resolve tightening.

Shalimar swore under her breath as she reached for the jet's medkit and contacted Jesse over the comm. system, telling him to have medbay ready. Settling back down by Dan's side, she opened and applied pressure bandages to Dan's wounds. Dan was entrusting his life to her and Brennan. And she damn well wasn't going to fail again.


	6. Taking Shape

* * *

**_Chapter 5: Taking Shape  
_**

* * *

**_  
_**

****

Jesse lifted the sheet, covering Dan's body.

Brennan and Shalimar entered the room, having cleaned themselves up after Jesse had sent them away. Brennan quietly said Jesse's name, garnering the molecular's attention.

"Dan?" Shalimar's soft voice queried.

Jesse looked up at the sounds. Then he moved over to the nearby computer terminal and sat down, fighting the dizziness that accompanied the use of his healing powers. "He'll be fine in a few hours, once his body has a chance to replenish the blood he lost."

"What about you? Did you do any extracurricular activities?"

Jesse smiled softly. Shalimar was even more protective than Katie, making sure he didn't overuse his powers. Adam and Brennan had left the scolding to Shalimar and Katie. Lexa, typically, had been more subtle in her monitoring of Jesse. She used her actions and facial expressions to indicate her concern, occasionally using her words, usually when they were alone together. Between the five of them, Jesse had learned his lesson, and in the three months since he'd discovered his ability limited himself to healing only 3 mutants besides the members of Mutant X. All three of them had been dangerously close to their expiry dates, which had been the only reason they'd allowed him to go forward with the procedures.

Jerking himself back to the present, Jesse answered Shalimar's question. "No, his expiry date isn't for another four years. I followed the rules." Clearing his throat, he related Dan's condition back to Brennan, Shalimar and Lexa, whose heels clicking across the floor announced her presence. "The bullet nicked his spleen and his diaphragm, which caused a lot of bleeding, but they were easy to take care of. Like I said, he'll be fine once his blood counts are back up. Then I'd like to put him in the New York safehouse with Tyrone. I think they'll need each other after what happened to Ariah."

Lexa caught the solemn and dejected expressions on Brennan and Shalimar's faces when Jesse mentioned the name of the mutant that had died. "Hey," she said to them. "It's not your fault. We can't control everything. Yeah, it's sad that she died, but the best thing we can do is find out why she was killed and stop it from happening again."

From where he was sitting, Jesse reached out and took Lexa's hand and ran his thumb along her wrist. She had made great strides since accepting and embracing her life with Mutant X, and he was proud of her. She was now less likely to assign blame and more likely to encourage the other members of her team. Some of the perpetual optimism that Shalimar always said surrounded him must be rubbing off on her. "Lexa's right," he told the other two mutants, who seemed to feel better at Lexa's words. "I put the system diagnostic aside and did some research after Tyrone contacted us, and I think I've found something."

Brennan ran a hand through his hair, collecting himself. He felt as badly as Shalimar did. But he had seen death too many times, experienced the loss of people he barely knew as well as those close to him. The best medicine for grief, at least for him, was to get back to work, and be true to the memory of those who had died. "What have you got, Jess?"

"Well, there have an increase in the attacks on Mutants, seemingly for no reason. Tyrone, Ariah and Dan. Three mutants in the past three days. I wondered what the connection was between them. I mean, they're different ethnicities, from different parts of the country, different pasts. I got a clue when Tyrone said they had all been friends since Genomex. At Genomex, most mutants were kept isolated. There had to have been a project or something that put them together while they were there. Now, all three of them are psionics. I went through Genomex's records and found that there were three scientists who worked with psionics in groups. One of them dealt with telepaths, another dealt with telekinetics. But I think the third guy, Dr. Michael Jacobs, is the one we're dealing with."

"What type of research did he do?"

"Well, he didn't deal with a specific category of psionic, but basically, he worked with psionics that could potentially kill people from a distance."

"So basically he was training assassins." Shalimar's voice was bitter.

"Who would do the Dominion's dirty work," Lexa pointed out just as bitterly, reminding them all that Genomex had been under the Dominion's control all along.

Brennan sighed. "So Tyrone, Ariah and Dan were part of this group?"

"Based on what the mutant database says about their powers, I'd say it's a definite possibility. I haven't had a chance to decode the Genomex testing database yet, and find the names of the mutants in that group, but I'm working on it. But all three of them have a small degree of telepathy. Tyrone can make people think they're being burned alive. The body follows the mind, and the person burns to death from the inside out. Dan can literally make people's blood boil, and Ariah could induce panic attacks to the point that the person has a heart attack."

Shalimar frowned. "Then why didn't she just use her powers when she was attacked? She could have killed those men attacking her, or at least disabled them enough to get away."

Brennan put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "She probably didn't have time. They probably surprised her.

Jesse sent a sympathetic look towards both of them. "Based on what you tell me happened, that's likely the case. But even if she'd had time, she wouldn't have been able to use her abilities."

"Why?" Lexa asked.

"The program was put on hiatus before Genomex collapsed. There had been an accident of some kind. One of the subjects was killed. There weren't many details, but after the accident, they were all outfitted with custom subdermal governors – the predecessor to the wire implant that you were outfitted with, Lexa – which disabled their powers. Though these governors couldn't control them like yours did you, Lex. After a few months, the project was abandoned and the test subjects were slated for termination –"

Shalimar growled. The fact that Genomex and the Dominion had no compunctions against taking human life made her wish she could spit fire. If the Creator weren't already dead, she would hunt him down and kill him. The others heard Shalimar's reaction, but didn't say anything. They felt the same way.

"– but Mutant X managed to free them before that happened, and managed to make Genomex think they _had_ been eliminated. But Adam couldn't find a way to disable the governors. So Ariah and the others still have them. She couldn't have used her powers if she wanted to."

Brennan started pacing. "Why weren't they in the underground?"

Jesse shook his head sadly. "The mutant underground wasn't well established at that time. There were only a couple of safehouses, and most mutants usually just got a new set of identification, maybe a new name, and disappeared into the world. It's only recently that we've managed to create better means for keeping mutants hidden."

Brennan came to a stop. "Okay, so we know _why_ they're being targeted. Any idea who? Could it be this Jacobs guy?"

Jesse shook his head, his face grim. "Dr. Michael Jacobs died in an automobile accident five months ago. There's no way he's pulling the strings. There was nothing in the police report to indicate that it was more than a random accident."

Lexa frowned. Jesse's voice had taken on a spiteful tone. Even when he had talked to her about Dr. Harrison, and what had been done to him while he was a captive of Genomex, he hadn't had such a tone.

Apparently Shalimar notices the change in Jesse's attitude too. "What's with the tone, Jess? Did you know Jacobs?"

The corner of Jesse's mouth pulled back briefly in a wry, humorless smile, and his face held an iota of surprise and having the malice in his voice detected. "Not directly, but from what I knew about him he was a sadistic son of a bitch. I won't say I'm sorry he's dead, because I'm not."

Shalimar put a hand on Jesse's shoulder, letting him feel her concern and support. He gripped it tightly, showing her did. Jesse was the only one of them who had been held and experimented on by Genomex for any length of time. It was understandable that he wouldn't have sympathy for any of its scientists. Adam had been the exception, only because he had proved his intentions by helping Jesse with a new life. But Shalimar had noticed an increase in the tension between the two men. It had become noticeable when Adam had come back to help them with Lexa's implant and had escalated from there. The tension had eased somewhat since they had rescued Adam three months ago, but it was still there. Shalimar set aside the thoughts for the time being. There was nothing she could do about it at the present time. Adam's trip to work with Keith had been delayed by the system virus. But now that the majority of the system diagnostic was done, he had taken off, but had told them to contact him if they needed him. She made a mental note to ask both of the men about it later. "So who do we think is pulling the strings?"

"I don't think it's the Dominion per se," Lexa said. "From the intelligence we've been getting in the past weeks, it seems like they're still reeling from the Creator's death, trying to figure out up from down. So if this is coming from a Dominion agent, it's completely unsanctioned."

"What about some of the other groups out there? The Strand, maybe?"

Jesse's brow furrowed in thought for a moment. "I don't think it would be a group, at least no one we know about. A group that size would leave some sort of trace. And they'd probably use their own assassins – people they could trust. The evidence from the attacks on Tyrone, Ariah and Dan indicate three distinct methods of attack. Whoever's behind the attacks is hiring freelance killers."

Brennan sighed, frustrated. "Terrific. We know why and how, but we still don't know who. Any ideas?"

"How much longer until you get the list of subjects from Jacobs' testing group?" Lexa asked. "While we're looking for the source, we can pick up the others on the list, keep them safe."

"I should have more in a couple of hours. You might be able to make some pick-ups while you're flying Dan to New York. In the meantime," he said to Shalimar and Brennan as Lexa sat down at the terminal beside him to help. "Why don't guys get some sleep? You look beat. Some of us around here should get some sleep."


	7. Commemoration

* * *

**_Chapter 6: Commemoration  
_**

* * *

**_  
_**

Lexa Pierce sat next to Jesse Kilmartin in the medbay. They were working from here, rather than from the computer desk, so Jesse could keep an eye on Dan. During a pause in her work, while the computer was running a search, she took a moment to look over at Jesse.

_Hey I see the trees are green again  
Maybe this time around you'll set the trend  
__Today's the day you make your mark I'm sure  
__But if you don't, if you don't, then try the next door_

They had discovered the list of mutants in Dr. Jacobs' study a half an hour ago. Now they were working on tracking them down. But something had changed in Jesse's demeanor the moment he had read the list.

_But I (but I), can't stop you  
There you go again  
__Falling like a star  
__Sinking like a stone_  
Watching as the world you're in  
_Now takes its toll_

"Jesse? Is something wrong?" His gloomy silence was starting to bother her.

_Brush the dust off it's dawn again my friend  
Next time you'll get it  
__Next time you'll make amends  
__Tomorrow's children will need a light to shine the way__  
Without you, without you, who will tell them to stay?_  
  
"Hmm?" Jesse looked up, clearly distracted. "No, no. Have you found an address for Rachel Solstrom yet?" The question was asked absently. His unfocused gaze had returned to the computer screen.  
  
Cause you are  
Falling like a star  
_Sinking like a stone__  
Watching as the world you're in now__  
Slowly takes its toll__  
I don't think you know__  
I'm so sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry__  
But you try, but you try, but you try_

"Yeah. She goes by the name Reyna Jones and lives in San Francisco." Lexa paused a moment before finally deciding that the direct approach was best. "Jesse, what the hell is going on with you?"

Jesse seemed to snap out of his stupor at her harsh tone. He looked up at her, a bit surprised. "What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" Ever since we found the list you've been in this funk. You've been silent as a clam and bite my head off if I ask a question more than one sentence long. I may be your girlfriend, but that doesn't mean I have to take it when you're acting like an asshole."

Jesse smiled at Lexa's reference to their relationship and blunt appraisal of his behavior. But it didn't reach his eyes and Lexa wanted to know why. "I'm sorry, Lex. I don't suppose I could get away with saying I'm just tired?"

Lexa crossed her arms beneath her breasts and increased the intensity of her stare. Obviously she wanted a better explanation.

He turned back to his computer, entering a few keystrokes, and for a moment she thought he was going to ignore her. She felt her temper rise.

To her surprise, though, he reached for the back of her chair and dragged it closer to his own station. It caught her by surprise, and it took a moment for her to regain her balance as the chair rolled to a stop. It helped that Jesse had his arm around her shoulder, and when the movement stopped, she let herself savor the warmth of his body next to hers.

"I want to show you something. Whether you tell the others is up to you, but I don't think they need this right now." He pointed to the screen. "There were 12 mutants in Jacobs' group. We've just put Tyrone and Dan into the underground. These four," he said as he pointed to the names, "were already in the underground when this whole thing started. You've managed to track down Rachel and Liang, and I have the address for Anton. That's nine. But these three –" he indicated the last three names on the list " – are dead."

Lexa looked at his eyes, trying to gauge his response. "Is that what's bothering you? That we couldn't save Ariah and these other two?"

"Sort of," he replied, his eyes distant. "Yeah, it bothered me that we couldn't save Ariah. Rick Tamazuki was killed in a bar fight five years ago. There was nothing I could do about that. There was nothing I could do about the third death either."

Lexa consulted the list. "Peter Holecker?"

Jesse nodded. "He was the mutant killed in the accident I told you about earlier, the one after which they put custom governors in all the subjects. He was a friend of mine. I guess seeing his name again brought back some old memories." His eyes were vacant for a moment as he mind briefly returned to the events from years ago, but then turned his gaze back to Lexa, wondering about her reaction.

Lexa looked confused. "Where did you meet him?" she asked softly. "I thought you said you never made any friends at school."

"I didn't meet him at school. Peter was a telepath. I met him in Genomex. We came in on the same day, and somehow he established a connection between us. We could speak telepathically to each other. There was a connection between us that was always open, even when we were asleep. I don't know how. Maybe he didn't have a governor, or it didn't work or something. We would talk to each other, and tell each other stories. We figured out that we were in the same room together. He could see a calendar and a clock. That's how I kept track of time for the first six months or so. We kept each other sane in that place." He chuckled. "We used to play chess with each other in our heads when things got bad. But then one day Harrison took me off to one of his little tests. It was a bad one, and when I woke up the connection was gone. Peter was gone." Jesse paused taking a deep breath, making sure his body could handle the flood of emotion before. "I've never told anyone else about Peter." He cleared his throat. "Later I heard Jacobs tell Harrison that Peter had gone bezerk during a test and killed some of his assistants before trying to escape. He said that they had to kill him."

Lexa could hear the thickness of his voice. His eyes sparkled with unshed tears and she could see that he was fighting them back. She'd known Jesse for more than a year, yet she couldn't remember a time when he'd been this close to tears in front of her. There had been several times when he had comforted her when her emotions had driven her to tears, and it was time for her to return the favor. Rising from her chair, she sat on his lap and put her arms around his neck. He seemed to resist at first, but soon his arms were around her, holding her tight while he cried. She ran one hand through his hair and the other along his back and whispered comforting nonsense in his ear. She sent him comfort and strength. It was an amazing feeling for her, too, as she herself was comforted and amazed by the fact that her presence alone could reassure another person.

After a few minutes the sobs subsided and he pulled back, lifting one hand to his eyes to wipe the lingering tears. "Oh," he said, collecting himself, avoiding her gaze. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't be," she said, running her fingers down the side of his face. They came to rest on his chin, which she lifted so he was forced to look into her eyes. "I'm glad you told me. It couldn't have been good for you to keep something so important to you bottled up for so long."

Jesse's eyes searched hers for a few moments before he spoke. "Thank you," he said reverently, placing a light, poignant kiss on her lips. They stayed that way, foreheads touching for several more moments, neither wanting to let go quite yet.

Finally Jesse lifted his head and gave a soft laugh. "I'm not sorry I told you, but this actually isn't what I meant to show you."

"What _did_ you mean to show me?" Reluctantly, she moved back to her own chair, but kept contact with Jesse, letting her hand rest on his thigh.

"That was the list of mutants in Jacobs' original group. But that project was shut down more than seven years ago, a few months after the accident. But three years ago, Jacobs tried to resurrect the project. This – " Jesse pressed a few keys "– is a list of the mutants he wanted to recruit. All of them psionics, all of them which – with a little training from him – could potentially kill from a distance and without a trace."

"There has to be two dozen names."

"Yup. But this is the big one." He pointed to a name two-thirds down the list.

"Emma DeLauro," she breathed. Her mind worked, and she understood why Jesse hadn't wanted her to tell the others. "That's why Genomex was after her three years ago. They wanted her for this program."

Jesse nodded. "And if they hadn't been after her, Mutant X would never have searched for her, she never would have become a part of Mutant X and we never would have known her. It's kind of disturbing to find out that one of the most evil men in the world is the reason you met one of your best friends."

"But that's life. The only reason I met you was because the Dominion sent me to infiltrate Mutant X. The only reason you met Shalimar was because Harrison was holding you captive." She took both of his hands in hers. "You remember when you were shot a few months ago and you started telling me about that book, "Sophie's World?"

He nodded. He remembered the time well. It was hard to forget being invaded by a bullet when you were supposed to be invulnerable to them. He also remembered that time well _because_ of her visits.

"You told me that all the bad that happens to you balances out on the big karmic scales. And that if you were experiencing a lot of bad, someone somewhere else was experiencing a lot of good. This is kind of the same thing. Good and bad things happen together."

He raised a hand to her face, reveling in the feel of her soft skin, in the fact that she loved him. "You know, you're getting really good at this philosopher stuff. Maybe you should become a psychiatrist," he joked.

She slapped his chest, feigning indignation. "You better not tell anyone else." He feigned injury, but drew her close for a kiss.

"Unnghhhh."

They broke the kiss when they heard the groan behind them. They had both forgotten that they were in the medbay and, though unconscious, Dan was still in the room.

Jesse moved to his patient's side. "Dan? Can you hear me?"

Dan groaned again, his eyes fluttering open. "What hit me?"

"A bullet, but you're okay now. You should be up and moving around in another hour or so. We're going to put you into the mutant underground with Tyrone. We're going to make sure that you're safe. I promise."

* * *

AN: This chapter is a bit of a songfic at the beginning. I don't own the song, which is "Lucky You" by LostProphets, from the Spider-Man 2 OST. 


	8. Background Information

* * *

Chapter 7: Background Information

* * *

* * *

_Consciousness returned with a jolt, and Peter found himself jerking upright. The motion had its consequences; a migraine appeared almost instantaneously. As he rubbed his temples, trying to alleviate the pain, he looked up and could see the bright mid-morning sun. Oh, God. He didn't know if he had been out because of his powers or because he was just plain sleeping. The fact that he couldn't tell scared the hell out of him. Slowly, Peter dragged himself to his feet. Looking around, he felt his spirits rise. There were no bodies around. He hadn't hurt anyone this time. But as fast as they had risen, any hope or optimism he felt disappeared as the memories of what he had done already cascaded through his mind. There had been the three lab assistants. Later, there were two more. He couldn't remember any of their faces. He had killed them, just like he had killed the others before. He looked up when he heard a noise. They would be coming after him. He couldn't stay here anymore. He had to leave, had to get away as fast as he could.  
_

* * *

* * *

It was Tuesday afternoon and Lexa, Shalimar and Brennan were waiting outside a trendy lunchtime café in downtown Philadelphia. When Katie had suggested lunch here, the members of Mutant X had balked, reminding her that the information they would be exchanging was rather sensitive. Katie replied that this particular diner was popular for business deals because the seating arrangements allowed privacy, and it was busy enough that it was impossible to overhear other conversations. Plus there was the fact that it provided an easy access location for all, and they were hungry for something besides leftover takeout.

Lexa's original plan had been to meet David and Katie alone. However, that morning, even after the exhausting tasks of taking Dan to New York and retrieving Rachel, Liang and Anton – and putting them in safehouses – Shalimar had been perceptive. She had sensed that Lexa was hiding something. Lexa had actually been harboring two secrets – the information about Peter and Emma that Jesse had told her last night, and the attack on Katie and David on Saturday night. Given that she wasn't about to break Jesse's trust, and Katie had only told her not to tell Jesse, she had given in and told Shalimar and Brennan about what had happened to Katie. Predictably, they were a little miffed that they had been left out of the loop. Katie had quickly become a part of the family, endearing herself not just because she was Jesse's little sister, but also because of her intelligence, loyalty and congeniality.

Shalimar spotted Katie walking toward them. She was dressed in business causal, blue pinstripe slacks covering sensible square-toed shoes, and a blue stripped fitted top all emphasizing her blond hair, making her look the consummate professional. Walking by her side was a tall man, just over 6 feet tall. He was dressed much more seriously than Katie. His blue power suit was tailored to his trim body, and his hair was combed back neatly. The two of them blended perfectly with the atmosphere of the café, unlike the three mutants, who, although dressed similarly, didn't quite seem to fit in.

As she approached, Katie frowned. "You told them," she stated simply, acknowledging Brennan and Shalimar's presence. "Does Jesse know?"

Lexa held up a hand in mock defense. "I only told them because they figured out I was keeping something from them. And no, Jesse doesn't know."

Brennan had his arm around Shalimar's back in a protective gesture. He had never met David before, and until he had a chance to size him up, he was still a threat. "The only reason we figured something was up was that she wasn't with working with us and she wasn't working with Jesse last night and this morning. She had to be doing something on her own." He didn't mention that the last time she had been doing something on her own, it had resulted in her being captured by the Dominion. But Lexa had become more of the team, which is why, he thought, she had owned up to what she was doing rather than try to hide it.

Katie relaxed some. At least for now, she was safe from the overprotective wrath of her brother. "David, this is Lexa Pierce, Shalimar Fox and Brennan Mulwray," she said indicating each as she introduced them. "They're good friends of mine. Everyone, this is David Yoltz, lead counsel for Kilmartin Enterprises."

The four of them exchanges pleasantries for a few moments more before Brennan ushered them into the building. Shalimar and Brennan flanked David as they entered the establishment, engaging in further pleasantries, and Katie dropped back to speak with Lexa.

"If he doesn't know what's going on, how did the three of you get away?" she asked in a low voice.

"Jesse's gone to New York to talk with Tyrone and Dan." Before Katie could ask who Dan was, Lexa gave her a brief rundown of the events since Saturday night, leaving out the private conversation she had had with Jesse yesterday evening. "Now that everything has had a chance to settle down a bit, he's hoping they'll have more information."

The five of them sat down at a table in the corner of the restaurant. The members of Mutant X found that Katie had been right. The place was so busy that even Shalimar had trouble picking out individual voices. The waiter came by, gave them their ice water and took their orders for soups, salads and/or sandwiches. Once the young man, who looked like he working his way through one of the local universities, left, they felt comfortable enough to begin their conversation.

"So," David asked. "What is it exactly that you guys do? Katie just told me that you were friends of hers and you could discreetly and effectively investigate what happened."

Shalimar sent an almost imperceptible glace towards Lexa. Along with Katie and Brennan, they had agreed to use their standard cover story whenever someone unacquainted with the mutant world asked what it was they did. Although Katie had known and trusted David for several years, the fewer people who knew who they were and what they did, the less chance there was of a security breech, whether it be purposeful or accidental.

"Well," she said to David. "We're basically a private firm that specializes in high security investigations. It's primarily freelance work, and we don't have many competitors. We're they guys they call in when someone steals something top secret or if someone tries to kill the CEO and the company doesn't want anyone to know about it so the company stock won't suffer. If we do our job right, the public never knows anything went wrong in the first place."

Katie listened to Shalimar's explanation for their actions, abilities and talents. She couldn't help remembering the when she had sat down with Adam once and he had explained the reason for Mutant X. He had formed the group because he felt responsible for the repercussions of his research. Rogue scientists and mutants were wreaking havoc on the general public, and in such a way that no one knew what they were doing. Innocent people, whose only crime had been having their genetic structure altered when they were embryos or children were being targeted by those in who thought all evidence of the entire programs should be destroyed. He had told her "they were fighting to protect them from a world most people don't even know exists." It was a phrase that still reverberated in her mind.

Brennan took a sip from his water glass. "We told you about us. What's your deal?"

Shalimar elbowed him. He was being too blunt.

David saw this and relaxed a bit. He knew he was being sized up, but it was nice to know that they weren't out for blood. He waited as the waiter brought their food, then spoke as he used his spoon to stir the soup so it could cool. "Well, I'm sure Katie told you that I did my undergraduate work at Duke and then went to Harvard Law. Maybe even how we met through Natalie?"

They indicated that they had.

"After I graduated, I clerked for an Appellate Court Judge for a year, then went to work of an international shipping company in New York. That's were I was when Katie gave me a call, and I've been working for Kilmartin Enterprises for the past six months." He took a sip of the soup, which was French onion. Hmm. Not bad, he thought.

"What about family?" Lexa asked.

"I was an only child, and my parents died when I was 19."

"I'm sorry."

David shrugged. "I wasn't very close to them." He cleared his throat, anxious to get to the point of the meeting. "Lexa, did you find out anything about the accident?"

She fiddled with her napkin for a moment before answering. "I didn't find as much as I wanted to; we've had a few 'emergencies' back at home base. But, according to the police report, there was only one man in the car. His name was Josef Stalin."

Brennan blinked. "As in the Russian dictator who died in 1953?"

Lexa didn't flinch at Brennan's knowledge of history. After she had let herself get to know the other members of the team, she had quickly realized that Brennan was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for. "Same name, but it's the alias for a known hit man. According to Interpol and the FBI, he's known to have killed at least 14 people."

Both David and Katie sat back in their seats. "Why was he after us?" she asked.

Lexa shrugged. "That's one thing I couldn't figure out. The car he was driving was stolen the day before, so that was a dead end. But once the police figured out who he was, I was able to trace his bank accounts. They may be secure by a normal person's standards, but for our systems it was fairly easy. A week ago, someone transferred $20,000 into his account, but I couldn't trace the source. But when the person who paid him for the job finds out that he not only failed, but got himself killed in the process, they'll revoke the transfer. I put a flag on the account. Any activity at all will activate it."

"You think they'll try again." Katie asked, the tone of her voice making it a statement rather than a question.

"Yeah. It's a good bet that whoever is behind it will try again. David, you need to be careful. For your own safety, you should probably stay at the mansion until we figure out who's behind it. I've already researched your professional career. There's no evidence that anyone's out for revenge, so we've got our work cut out for us."

David chuckled. "You already did a background search on me. Why bother asking me about my past then?"

Lexa tilted her head. "It's a classic maneuver. Do your own research about something, then ask the person about it. If there's a difference, someone's lying. I'm sure you do the same thing in your work."

"Touché," David chuckled, saluting Lexa with his water glass.

The rest of the meal passed in relative normalcy. The girls chatted about a new style that they didn't particularly like, and Brennan and David talked about Russian history. By the time they were leaving the restaurant, moving south down the street, the boys had moved on to the local football team. Just as they were discussing the team's poor defensive line, a sudden crash, stunned them all into silence.

"Are you guys all right?" a guy on the street asked. "You could have been killed!"

The other people on the street murmured their assent as Brennan, David, Katie, Shalimar and Lexa stared at a heavy winch that had just fallen between them. The machine was the size of a basketball, and had it fallen directly on someone it would have easily killed them. Looking up, they saw the source. A window-washing platform, attached to the building they were standing next to, dangled precariously from one end, a good 150 feet above the ground. Two men were still clinging to the dangling platform.

"Oh! Someone call 911!" a woman shouted.

The five of them moved away from the crowd, which had now turned its attention to the drama unfolding 15 stories up. They walked slowly, eventually coming to a stop.

"A freak accident, right?" Shalimar said.

"Yeah, of course. Hey David, what did you mean the team can't defend their goal?" Brennan nudged David and started walking again, obviously intent on changing the subject for the time being.

"Right, right. Uh, they've got a huge hole in their line. The defense can't move fast enough."

Shalimar watched the boys' conversation resume, albeit solemnly. She turned to Katie. "Keep him at the mansion, if you can. Even if this was an accident, we're obviously dealing with someone who doesn't give a damn about collateral damage. There's something funny going on here, I can almost smell it."

* * *

* * *

AN: Hey! Where'd my reviewers go? You guys had me spoiled! Anyway, I'd like to know what you guys thought of the 'songfic' from the last chapter, because I'm think of writing some one-shot songfics in the future 


	9. Fighting for Truth

* * *

Chapter 8: Fighting for Truth

* * *

"I'll have vodka on the rocks and a cosmopolitan for the lady."

"You remembered."

David turned around and rested his elbows on the bar while he waited for their drinks. "I remember a lot of things about you."

It was Tuesday night. He and Katie had gone back to Kilmartin Enterprises after their lunchtime meeting with her friends. As he was finishing his work that evening, Katie had stopped by to give him a ride. While they were in the car, she had asked if he wanted to get a drink first. The events of the day must have worn him down, because he had said yes

"Oh really? Like what."

"I remember that your favorite study snack food was baby carrots. I remember that you prefer hot apple cider to coffee. And I remember when you put up so many Christmas lights that you blew the all the circuits and fuses in the entire apartment building."

She laughed as they both turned to accept their drinks from the bartender. "I remember that. The neighbors were so upset." She ran her finger along the rim of her glass. "I remember we used to be a lot closer back then.

Silence hung between them for a few moments. He smiled, soft and ruefully, as he took a sip from his drink. "I remember that, too. But that was before we had jobs, responsibilities."

She snorted. "That's a load of bull. We may have our hands full with K.E. right now, but we had a ton of work at Harvard. I bet you had just as much work at Duke, and I know law clerks don't get paid all that much for the kind of work they do."

David chugged the rest of his drink and then slammed the glass on the bar. "What are you trying to say, Katie?"

She looked at her drink before looking back up at him. "I'm just saying you've been using that same excuse for years to avoid personal relationships."

"Well, I've realized over the years that I have a lot to deal with, and I don't want other people to get hurt because of it!"

"You're still making excuses!"

David opened his mouth to shout back at her, but then seemed to think better of it. He took her half-finished drink from her hand. "Come on. We don't need to draw attention like this in public. Why don't we go back to my place?"

Katie heard the frost in his voice that hadn't been there a moment before. So she answered back just as coldly, "Fine. That will give you a chance to pick up a few things before we go back to the mansion."

They said nothing more to each other as they got into Katie's car and drove to David's apartment. She took the back roads, purposefully avoiding the area where the events of Saturday night had occurred. They trudged up the two flights of stairs to his room. He opened the door, and they both stepped inside.

"Thank you for the ride," he said, tossing his keys onto a table in the entryway.

Katie paused. "Wait a minute. Aren't you going to go pack a bag?"

"Nope. I'm going to take a shower, and then I'm going to bed so I can get a decent amount of sleep tonight." He didn't add that he'd probably need a couple more drinks before he could do that.

"David, you can't be serious. You heard what Lexa said. Until we have a chance to figure out what the hell is going on, you'll be safer at the mansion!"

"Thanks for the offer, but I think I'm going to stay here for the time being."

"David! What if someone tries to kill you again? You don't have any kind of alarm system here. And you have flimsy locks on your doors!"

"Did it ever occur to you that it's not me they're after? They might just be after you!"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "We both know that's not true."

He froze. "What do you mean?"

"A bird, David? Did you think I would fall for that? I've had birds fly into windows before, and they don't do damage like that. And those two little holes in the door? I know bullet holes when I see them."

"You saw them. Fine, so maybe someone is trying to kill me. That's all the more reason for me not to be near you or anyone else. In fact, I probably shouldn't go to work for the next few days. I don't want anyone hurt because of me."

"No one will be. The mansion has security you couldn't even dream of. In the past few months alone, measures were installed that 99 of the world doesn't even know exist."

"It doesn't matter, Katie," he said, ushering her back toward and through the door. His hand reached up, as if he were going to touch her face, but hovered just above her skin. It was close enough, though, that she could feel the heat from his palm. "I can't risk seeing someone I love get hurt."

She felt her jaw drop. Then the door shut in her face.

* * *

The moment he shut the door, David leaned his head against it._ Damn_, he thought. _I didn't mean to say that._ He went through the living room and onto the balcony, hoping the cool night air would help him coalesce his thoughts. Even before the incident on Saturday night, he had found Katie in his thoughts again and again. In fact, he suspected that his feelings for her had started years ago, when they had first become friends. He had managed to keep his emotions in check then. In the years since he had graduated, he thought she had faded, just like the few other friends he had made. But then when she had called, and asked him to help her revamp K.E. legal affairs the emotions had come flooding back, stronger than ever. He had been blindsided, and had resorted to avoiding contact with her in an effort to control it. With his life, he couldn't afford to have anyone close. But it seemed as if the emotional dams he had constructed had finally broken. And now that he had slipped, there was no way to rebuild them. The only option now was to leave.

David became aware of aching fingers and looked down. He had been clutching the railing so tightly that he had cut off circulation to his fingers. He flexed his fingers to get the circulation going again. Then he pushed himself off the railing, intent on going back to the kitchen. He needed a drink.

* * *

Katie stood there, stunned into immobility, for several moments after David shut the door in her face. _'I can't risk seeing someone I love get hurt.' _She'd known for years that she felt something more than friendship for David, and though she'd made it clear to him that the next step was up to him. But this was the first time he had given any indication that he felt the same way towards her. Well, damn him for thinking she'd give up so easily. She was going to go in there and give him a piece of her mind.

Reaching down, she turned the doorknob. As she suspected, he hadn't locked it. How the hell did he think he was going to protect himself if he didn't even lock his doors? She found her temper rising again. She stormed into the apartment.

"David, that's no excuse! I'm well able to protect myself. Besides, I'm not the one who doesn't have any security," she said, rounding a corner and finding him in the kitchen pouring a drink.

"Leave, Katie," he said, replacing the cap on the bottle of scotch.

"I'm not leaving unless you come with me."

He ignored her, brushing past her as he walked back to the balcony, drink in hand.

"Damn it, David! You do this every time!" she shouted at his back as he stood at the railing. "Every time I've tried to get close to you in the past you just push me away. I'll tell you right now: I was and am well aware of the risks involved. I want to be more than just a friend, David. God knows I've tried to be subtle about it, tried to let you know I was willing and the next step was up to you. I tried to be subtle and not push you. But that doesn't seem to be working. Do I have to hit you over the head with it? I care about you too, and don't want to see you hurt either."

She felt her body relax, her frustration vented. She waited for David to say something. She waited. And waited. Waiting…

Finally, he turned around. "Katie, I…" He paused she could see his broad shoulders move as he took a deep breath. "You don't know how many times I wanted to say something. There were times it was all I could do to keep myself from asking you out or just sweeping you into my arms."

"Why did you do any of those things?"

"It was too dangerous. If they had ever found me… It looks like they have now. The best thing is for me to leave and for you to just forget all about me."

"What are you talking about? David, please, _talk_ to me."

"Just forget everything, Katie." He put the glass down on the rail.

The glass never had a chance to balance properly. There was silence as it missed the rail. The bottom-heavy glass, still half full of amber liquid, fell to the ground and shattered.

Katie jumped at the sound. She looked up from the shards of glass into his face. "David? Are you okay?"

He said nothing, merely stood there. Then he fell to his knees.

Fear rushed through Katie; all other emotions fled. She rushed to his side, kneeling down so she could see his face. "David? David!" She cradled his face in her hands and he looked down. She followed his gaze. There was nothing on his chest, but when she looked on his back… There, in the middle of the left side of his chest was a small red disc…which was quickly blossoming into a telltale scarlet flower.

"Oh God, David!" His body sagged in her arms, and she managed not to fall under his sudden weight. As gently as she could she lowered him onto his side and ripped open his shirt. There was no large ragged hole, just a small dot where the bullet had entered. Frantically, she tore off her sweater and balled it against the wound, hoping to staunch the flow of blood and bubbles from the wound. For only a fraction of a second, her mind panicked as she wondered what to do next. But the moment passed and, holding onto the sweater with her left hand, she thumbed the ring on her right hand, a ring given to her just weeks before. "Jesse?! Lexa?! Anyone?!"

For a second there was no answer, but then she heard Lexa's voice over the comring. "Katie? What's wrong?"

"It's David. He's been shot."

"All right, just stay calm. It'll be okay. Where are you?"

"David's apartment." She practically shouted the address at Lexa.

"I'm sending Shalimar and Brennan. They'll be there in five minutes. I'll get Jesse and get the medbay ready."

Katie nodded, though she knew Lexa couldn't see her. She could feel the tears threatening as she cradled David's head and listened to his ragged breathing. "It'll be okay, love. Just hang on. It'll be okay."


	10. Return

* * *

**_Chapter 9: Return  
_**

* * *

**_  
_**

****

"This had better be good, Lexa. I just got to sleep."

"Believe me, Jesse, it is. Here." She picked his discarded slacks up of the floor and tossed them at his chest as he sat up.

"What's wrong?" he asked, quickly shoving one leg through his pants. "Has another mutant been attacked?"

"No, it's David. He's been shot."

Jesse froze in the middle of buttoning his fly. "Katie?"

"She's fine. She's the one who called it in. Shal and Brennan are already airborne. They'll be back in less than 10 minutes. We've got to get medbay ready."

Forgoing shoes, Jesse rushed to medbay, pulling on a shirt to ward off the chill of the air, such a contrast to the warmth and comfort of his bed. Quickly he and Lexa readied the medical equipment and reset the scanners. Lexa handed him a chocolate bar. Her looked at her confused for a moment, but then understood and started to eat it. He would use his healing ability as a last resort. But if he needed to, it would be a good idea for him to stock up on energy.

Lexa finished drawing up a hypodermic of anesthetic, placed it on the nearest tray. Then the two of them stood there, waiting.

They didn't have to wait for long. Minutes later Shalimar and Brennan hurried into the room, carrying an unconscious David between them. Katie hurried along behind, blood marring her blouse and slacks.

"Put him on the bed, roll him on his side, and then clear out. Lexa, get that shirt off and hook up the monitors." Jesse ushered Katie out, back toward Shalimar and Brennan, both of whom put an arm around the young woman. Then he quickly returned to the diagnostic table. He had Lexa stand back for the 5 seconds it took the equipment to do a body scan. "We're lucky, the bullet stayed in one piece. Lexa, you've got field training. Grab the forceps and see if you can get the bullet out. I'm going to finish these scans."

They worked silently. Jesse evaluated the scan, seeking out the path of the bullet, developing a treatment plan. Lexa efficiently administered the anesthetic, wiped the wound as clean as possible, and dug in. She was thankful David was unconscious, as it took some digging to get the bullet out of his back. Finally, she pulled out the offending mass of metal and dropped it onto the tray with a clunk.

"Holy shit."

Lexa looked up. "Jesse?"

Jesse grabbed a biorhythms monitor and slapped into place on his neck. "There's too much damage here. I'm going to have to go in. Watch the monitor, will you?"

She nodded and moved efficiently over to the monitor. She scanned the tests Jesse had run so she could follow his progress. When her eyes fell on a particular piece of information, she whirled. "Damn it, Jesse, no!"

But it was too late. Jesse already had his hands on David's body, and had already begun the healing process. Jesse's eyes were wide with shock, and there was nothing Lexa could do but wait.

At Lexa's shriek, the other three, who had been waiting on the other side of the wood and plexiglass wall, dashed into the room.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Damn it," Lexa swore. "Brennan, get the other biobed ready. Be ready to shock him if we need to."

Shalimar grabbed Lexa's shoulders. "Lexa. What is it? Why do we need the bed?"

Lexa pointed to the diagnostics monitor. "Because David's a new mutant, and his genetic structure is so unstable that fixing it is going to drain Jesse's energy completely."

* * *

AN: Yeah, I'm sorry, a short chapter. But I felt bad leaving you guys hanging, and I'm having a bit of writers block (not really: I know what's going to happen, I just can figure out how to say it)...more should be coming soon, probably early next week. Thanks for being patient.  



	11. Absolution

* * *

**_Chapter 10: Absolution  
_**

* * *

**_  
_**

****

_"Peter?!"_

_"Jesse?"_

_"But… they said you were dead."_

_"No, no. I don't understand. __Harrison__ took you away. I heard you scream and then the link was gone. You died. You're dead"_

_"No, I'm not dead now. But I was then. I remember that day. That was the first time my heart and brain activity stopped during a test. I was technically dead. __Harrison__ thought it was amusing that I survived. I was out of it for a while and when I came to you weren't there. The link was gone, then I heard Jacobs tell __Harrison__ that you'd gone crazy and they had to kill you."_

_"Well, obviously I'm not dead either. They came for me right after I lost the link. I thought they had killed you, and I thought they were going to kill me too. I panicked."_

_"What happened?"_

_"I don't remember doing it, but I killed them. Three lab techs."_

_"But how? The governor…"_

_"I don't know. Maybe it broke or maybe they disabled it too early. I was scared and it just happened."_

_"It's okay, now. We can teach you to control your powers."_

_"Control them? Jesse, I influence people to kill themselves! Those three lab techs killed themselves because my brain went haywire. Then after I escaped, there were two more people! Why would I want to control something like that!? I don't want to kill people."_

_"No, Peter. We can teach you to control your powers so things like that will never happen again. Or, if you want, we can insert a permanent governor. But it would probably stop your telepathy too."_

_Peter felt himself calming, recognizing the familiar, if long absent, presence of his friend. "Are you sure? Who's we?"_

_"I'm sure. We have our own governors, but we only use them when mutants are a danger to others. The 'we' is my team. We're called Mutant X. It's our job to help people like us."_

_"Us?"_

_Jesse nodded. "Us. We're both something called new mutants, Peter. About 25, 30 years ago scientists altered our genetic structure for medical reasons. But the genes mutated, and we developed powers. There are all different kinds of mutants. One of the lead scientists on the project, Adam Kane, is the one who helped me get out of Genomex. He's the one who can teach you all kinds of things about controlling your powers."_

_Peter paused. "How long were you there?"_

_Jesse's 'voice' was soft. "After you left? Another 11 months."_

_"God, Jesse. I thought you were dead. If I'd've known you were alive, I never would have left without you."_

_"It's okay. If I had escaped then, I never would have met Adam, or Shalimar or Brennan…"_

_"Shalimar? Brennan? Katie's friends? Oh, God, Katie! Is she okay?"_

_Jesse reassured Peter. "She's fine. She's worried about you. We're going to have to have a talk about my sister later, though."_

_"You're sister? Jeez, that's right."_

_Over the link, Jesse raised an eyebrow._

_Peter laughed as he recognized the gesture. "I knew they were more than a private investigations agency. Are they members of your team too?"_

_Jesse nodded. "They're mutants too. Shalimar has heightened senses and agility. Brennan can manipulate electricity and Lexa can manipulate light. They're good people, and they want to help you. They brought you to me for medical treatment at our headquarters when Katie called to say that you had been shot."_

_Peter's own 'voice' was solemn. "You know, when I first met Katie, I thought fate was playing with me. She had your last name and told me that her older brother had died. It didn't take too long to realize that she was talking about you. Then I started working at K.E. and we found Noah Kilmartin's copy of your death certificate. It seemed like fate was playing with me, confirming everything and reminding me that you were dead and that there was nothing I could do about it." Peter 'slapped' his forehead. "Jeezo. Katie asked me about reversing a death certificate, but then said she didn't need it done. That was you, wasn't it?"_

_"Yeah. I have my reasons for keeping everything secret, and keeping myself dead. I'll tell you about them when you're better."_

_Suddenly, Peter felt Jesse weaken, and, in his mind, Jesse fell to his knees. The world they were in together shuddered. "Jesse? What's happening?"_

_"I'm healing you. It's taking more energy than I thought."_

_"How? That's not one of your powers."_

_Jesse picked himself up and put his hands on Peter's shoulders. "A test Adam did enhanced my powers. Now I can heal people."_

_Peter took a step back. "Adam does tests?"_

_Jesse shook his head. "Not the kind they did at Genomex. See, the same thing that gives a mutant their powers also makes their genetic structure unstable. The test Adam was doing was trying to stabilize my structure. If the structure isn't stabilized, a mutant's powers will cause them to self-destruct. Every mutant has an exact date when that will happen. Your date must be close, because your genetic structure is a mess. I'm fixing that as well as the damage from the bullet."_

_"How can you tell where the damage is?"_

_"Two ways. First, it's part of _how_ I heal. Second, I did a body scan before I started healing you. I knew you were a new mutant when I started the process, but I didn't know you were, well, you."_

_Peter opened his mouth to ask another question – there were so many questions – but stopped when he felt the link to Jesse fade again. "Jesse! Don't leave!"_

_"I'm not. It's just…It's just that this is taking so long. There's so much damage. I'm going to need all my energy for this. We'll talk more later. Right now, just relax, and lend me any energy you can spare…it'll be over soon."_

_Peter both saw and felt the flash. But this time it wasn't white. It was different. It was white. The white of clouds, and the blue of the sky and the yellow of a bright sun. And it wasn't frightening. It was soothing. But then it, and everything else, faded to black.  
_

* * *

In Sanctuary, Lexa and the others watched as Jesse's body underwent the process of healing someone else. They had all seen it at least once, but that didn't make it any less awesome.

"This is taking too long," Shalimar said, red light flashing across her features as Jesse did his work.

"There's a lot of damage. The scans indicate that David's close to his expiry date. Plus the bullet ricocheted around in there and did a lot of damage." Lexa purposefully kept her voice calm, though inside she was screaming at Jesse for taking such a risk. She didn't need to panic, not with Katie still in the room.

"How long has it been," Katie asked quietly.

Shalimar checked the biorhythms monitor. "Almost five minutes. Brennan?"

"I'm ready."

Seconds later, the red flashing stopped, and Brennan lunged out to catch Jesse as the younger man fell to the floor. He quickly lifted the molecular's body onto the second biobed as the biomonitor began screeching. An electric charge appeared in his palm and he looked over at Shalimar who was still at the console.

"He's in v-tach, Bren. Give him a jolt, but keep it below 200 joules."

"Easy for you to say," Brennan muttered as he sent the charge into Jesse's chest, hoping it was the right amount.

Jesse's body jerked, and the screeching noise emitted by the monitor stopped. It was replaced by a steady beeping, which was almost identical to the similarly pitched beeping emanating from David's monitor. His chest began to rise and fall in a slightly irregular rhythm.

Lexa moved to Jesse's side, checking his vitals as well as reassuring herself that he was still alive. "Damn it Jesse. You shouldn't have done that. You could have killed yourself, you idiot."

To her surprise, his eyes fluttered open. "Lexa. Take care of Peter." Sluggishly, his right hand moved. Then his body went limp and his breathing gradually became slow and even, the hallmark of a restorative sleep.

The others looked up at Lexa. "Who the hell is Peter?" Brennan asked.

Lexa was looking at David, following Jesse's indication. "Oh, my God."

* * *

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AN: Okay, I know many of you had already figured it out. But you had fun waiting for it, right? Yes? Maybe? Ah, well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  



	12. Sunshine and Flowers

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**_Chapter 11: Sunshine and Flowers  
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Lexa had the feeling she knew what was going on, but kept it to herself. If she was right, it would be better for David and Jesse to tell the story. So she shrugged off the questions the others asked her, instead ushering them out of medbay. She had Katie go up to her room and change into some clean clothes. Then she sent Shalimar and Brennan perform the standard flight maintenance on the Helix.

Les than an hour later, though, Shalimar returned, having completed part of the maintenance and leaving the rest for Brennan. Lexa had been wandering back and forth between the console, where she was researching the list, and the besides of the two men, where she made minute adjustments their monitoring equipment. Noting that David's blood had stained her clothes and the dark circles under her eyes Shalimar had quickly shooed Lexa upstairs for a relaxing hot bath and clean clothes, assuring the dark-haired woman that she would stay and monitor Jesse and David.

It was only two hours after that when Jesse started waking up. Shalimar was surprised. Given the amount of healing he'd done, they had expected him to sleep for another 6 to 8 hours.

"Jesse?" Shalimar shook his shoulder when she heard the change in his breathing. "How're you feeling? You okay?"

Jesse groaned. "Oy. Yeah, I'm fine," he said, blinking against the bright lights overhead.

"Good. If I weren't worried about rattling your skull even more, I'd slap you upside the head for doing that without telling us first."

"Doing what?" he asked innocently.

"Oh, don't play stupid. You've got the worst poker face I've ever seen, and it doesn't suit you. No more playing hero unless you consult us first, you got that?" She jabbed a finger at his chest for emphasis.

He smiled. "Point taken, Shal. How's Peter – er, David?"

"_David_ is fine. In fact, he should be waking up pretty soon. Care to explain who Peter is?"

Jesse sighed. "Might as well get the others in here, tell them all at once."

Shalimar left to retrieve the others, giving a shout, which echoed through the hallways. When she returned, she asked, "Are you sure you're not still tired? You've only slept for two or three hours. Lexa said that healing him would use all your energy. Last time you did that much work, you were out cold for over 10 hours."

"I'm fine. He's a psionic, so I only had to focus on brain cells, rather than the whole body. Plus I managed to get a lot of energy from David himself, so I didn't have to use so much of my own. I don't think I would have passed out at all except his expiry date was really close and there was tons of damage from the bullet." Jesse looked at the timepiece on the diagnostics table and frowned. "Where's Adam? I thought he was planning to be back by now."

Lexa strolled into the room, Brennan and Katie on her heels, and heard Jesse's question. "He's still working with Burstyn. I called him while you were sleeping it off. He says they just might have found something. When I told him what's going on around here, he wanted to come back, but I told him to stay." She shrugged. "There's nothing he can do here that we can't." She moved to Jesse's side and brushed a hand through his hair. "Are you going to tell them about Peter?"

Jesse glanced over to the still sleeping David, stared at his still form for a moment, and then nodded. "I've met David before," he started, earning startled looks from Brennan, Shalimar and Katie.

"When?" Katie asked. "I've been trying to get you two to meet for months. And when I told you his name, you never said anything."

"And what does David have to do with Peter?"

Jesse squared his shoulders. "I didn't recognize the name, Katie, because I'd never met anyone named David Yoltz. When we met, his name was Peter Holecker. David _is _Peter. I met him at Genomex. He was a test subject, like me. We came to Genomex the same day, and were together for six months."

"I thought you were kept in isolation when you were there," Shalimar said quietly.

"I was. Peter – David," he corrected. " – was a telepath. He could establish telepathic connections with people he touched. When we first got there, we – along with half a dozen other mutants – were tossed in dark holding cells. Somehow, Peter and I connected. We had a telepathic link for my first six months at Genomex. But one day Harrison took me for a test, and when I came back Peter was gone."

"Gone?"

Jesse nodded. "Absolutely gone. I couldn't sense him at all. It was the first time in six months that we were out of contact. We were even connected when we slept; we even used to share dreams. So when I couldn't connect with him, I thought he was dead. Later I heard someone tell Harrison that Peter had gone crazy and that they'd had to kill him."

Katie gasped in shock. Shalimar put a hand on the girl's shoulder. Even though she'd been working with them for three months, Katie was still adjusting to the atrocities Genomex and the Dominion committed against human beings. Shalimar smiled forlornly, saddened by the fact that she herself had already grown accustomed to such things. Just another sin to lay at the feet of the Creator and his ideals. Turning to Jesse, she asked the obvious questioned. "So what really happened? Obviously, David – Peter – wasn't killed since he's right here. And come to think of it," she said, crossing her arms. "How come you didn't recognize him the second we brought him in?"

Jesse shifted on the bed, adjusting it so he could sit up. "I didn't recognize Peter when they brought him in because we've never actually seen each other. We met in the dark, and were kept in pods on opposite sides of the circle from each other. That's how I knew about Jacobs. He was Peter's 'doctor.' As for what really happened, I asked him about that while I was in there. I don't know how, maybe it was something Harrison did, but the link between us was severed, and he thought I was dead. Then when Jacob' assistants took him for a test, he panicked. Somehow, he managed to escape. As for why he was listed as dead, my guess is that some flunky couldn't catch him and then lied to his boss because he didn't want to be punished for it. Or maybe someone else was covering up his mistake, I don't know."

The room was silent as Jesse finished his story.

But a few moments later, Brennan's voice broke the silence. He looked around at the others and his brow was furrowed in thought. "Hey Jess, is telepathy his only power?"

Jesse's eyes widened as he followed Brennan's train of thought. "No," he answered. "Pete – David has the ability to influence others to commit suicide."

Shalimar and Lexa picked up the realization at almost the same time. Shalimar's jaw dropped. "Which would allow him to kill from a distance…Is Peter's name on the –"

"His name is on the list," Lexa responded before Shalimar could finish the question. "But Jesse and I discounted it because he was listed as dead."

Katie's eyebrow quirked. "If he's on the list, then could the people who have been trying to kill those other psionics be the same ones trying to kill David?"

Shalimar nodded. "It's a pretty sure bet. The attacks on David match the MOs of the attacks on the others: hired guns. Makes our job a bit easier now – we only have one crazy on our hands instead of two."

"I think it might be easier than that, Shal," Lexa said. "According to the list, Peter is dead. So if it is the same person, they had to have been on the inside. I mean, only a handful of people close to the project would know that he's alive."

"That makes sense. I mean, it's not all sunshine and flowers, but it's a lead. We can start by – "

"Um, guys?" Jesse interrupted. The conversation stopped, and they looked up at Jesse. "David's waking up, and I think having you all in here will freak him out."

Katie looked down at David's still features. "How can you tell?"

Jesse smiled. "The link is back."


	13. The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Trut...

AN: Sorry for the delay, but I've had family in town for the past week or so, and I haven't had time to do much writing. I'm not writing ahead for this story, so the going will be a bit slower. Keep reviewing, it makes my day! Barkeep: As far as needing a beta, I might in the future. Sorry for all those errors in the last chapter. I usually proofread my own work before I post it, but I forgot to last time. Thanks for the tips!

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**_Chapter 12: The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth  
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"So that's what Mutant X does. It kind of goes with what they told me when we were at lunch."

Jesse smiled. He and David were sitting up on their respective beds, both still a little tired and bit sore. "If you need to tell a lie, it's usually best to stay as close to the truth as possible. It's less likely to create questions or discrepancies. I'll admit, I'm definitely miffed that they left me out of the loop on that one, not telling me about what happened last Saturday. But I understand why they did." He let out a breath and stretched his arms over his head.

David and Jesse had been alone in medbay for the past hour or so. David had explained the events of the last week or so, leaving nothing out. There would have been no point in lying; they two of them were connected again, and they could easily tell if, and in fact have an idea about what, the other was hiding. Jesse had in turn told David about Mutant X: how it was started, what it did, and the changes they had undergone in the past few months.

"It's so weird."

"What?"

"Actually _hearing_ your voice. It's not quite the same as it is up here," David said, tapping the side of his head.

Jesse chuckled. "I guess not. Now that I think about it, your voice sounds different too. And having a face to go along with the voice is going to take some getting used to too."

David was looking around the room. "Are there _any_ windows in this place?"

This time Jesse laughed out loud. "No. Unfortunately there aren't. There weren't any in the old sanctuary either. That's one of the reasons I hated staying behind after Adam left. Even though the place was big and airy, it was still a closed space. We had one of those plasma televisions somewhere that had holograms of mountains and lakes and rivers, but it wasn't the same."

"It's the recycled air. It's just like in the pods."

Jesse thought for a moment, then nodded. "I think you're right. I guess I just kept myself busy so I wouldn't pay attention to it."

"I used to keep the windows open all the time, even during the winter, just so I'd have fresh air going through my apartment."

"Well, you're definitely not alone when it comes to things like that. I bet anyone who ever spent any time in those things feels the same way. Hey, I've got a question for you. How much do you know about your own powers?"

David stared at Jesse for a moment before answering. "As far as the telepathy, in order to make a link, I have to have physical contact with the person. It's tricky, because I can't control the initiation. If I touch someone, boom!, I've got a link with them. It only lasts for about an hour or so, and then I can get control and break the link if I want to. Most people don't even know I'm there. In fact, you were the first person I ever met who even knew what was happening. Anyway, that first hour when I can't control the link really sucks. I feel like a peeping tom. People broadcast their emotions and thoughts really loudly, and I can't filter any of it out during that hour."

"Katie did say you were kind of standoffish."

David shrugged. "The only way I knew to avoid making telepathic contact was to stay away from people. So I didn't have many friends. That's why I chose swimming when my college advisor said I should join a group or team sport; swimming doesn't require contact with other people."

"What about your other ability?"

"You mean killing people. All I know is what I learned from Dr. Jacobs. You said Genomex collapsed. What happened to Jacobs?"

"He was killed in a car accident a few months ago."

"Can't say I'm sorry for the bastard. I almost wish he'd had a more painful death. Anyway, based on Jacobs' tests, my ability to influence depends on three things. One, I have to focus the energy. Two, I have to have visual contact with the person. And three, the person has to have a weak mind. Most people do."

"I know what you mean," Jesse said, recollecting some of the things Emma had told him. "But there's something else, isn't there?"

David shot Jesse a half-hearted grin. "I guess now that the link is back we'll never be able to hide things from each other."

"Not unless you end the link," Jesse replied, remembering what he just learned about how David controlled his telepathy.

David shook his head. "I can't end the link with you. I can dampen it, but I can't cut it off completely."

Jesse frowned and an eyebrow rose. "Can't, or won't," he said softly.

"Can't." David was looking Jesse directly in the eye. "When we were in Genomex, I didn't dare try to cut the connection, in case we couldn't get it back. But in the past hour or so, I made a couple of attempts to cut the connection, knowing that you were right here, and I could just touch you to get the connection back." He shook his head. "But I can't end the connection. And I don't know why." He sat back on the biobed.

Jesse was silent for a moment. "That doesn't make any sense. I'm not psionic in any way. There's no way I would be able to interfere with your abilities like that. Maybe Adam will have an idea why." He mumbled the last sentence as he sat back on his own bed. "You didn't answer my question," he said a few moments later.

"What question was that?"

"You were talking about your ability to influence others, and I could tell there was something nagging at you. What is it?"

David was silent. For a moment, Jesse thought that he wasn't going to answer, but then he spoke. "For the past few months, I've been having these blackouts. Migraines too. There's just these flashes of light and needles poking in my brain. Then I pass out. Sometimes only for a few minutes, sometimes for a couple hours."

"That's not what's bothering you though, is it?" The words were a statement.

"No. Sometimes when I woke up, I'd find that I'd used my powers. A few months ago, I blacked out on the bus. When I woke up, we were stopped and there were police all around us. The driver of the car in front of us had 'decided' to drive his car into oncoming traffic. He and his passenger were killed. They're the only ones who have died, but there have been a lot of close calls. Once, I woke up just in time to stop a woman and her baby from walking out into rush hour traffic."

"Sounds like a control problem. Adam can help you with that. And, I don't know this for sure, Adam will have to do the tests, but I'll bet that your blackouts and at least some of that control loss are from the fact that your expiry date was so close."

"You think so?"

"Sure. Remember how I told you that as a mutant's expiry date approaches, their powers will go wacko and cause the mutant to self-destruct? That's probably what was happening with you. A couple more days, and you probably would have influenced yourself to kill yourself. Wait, did that make any sense?"

David laughed at Jesse's confusion over the strangeness of the vocabulary. "Yeah."

"And now that your genetic structure's been stabilized, those blackouts will probably disappear. And Adam can help you with whatever control problems you still have. They didn't exactly teach them too us at Genomex."

"True. You're sure Adam knows how?"

"Positive. We used to have a psionic on our team, and she learned to do some amazing things under Adam's tutelage. He's the one that taught me to control my abilities. When I first got here, I used to phase through the bed while I was sleeping. I'd wake up under my bed. If Adam hadn't taught me control, I might have killed myself getting stuck in the floor."

"I'm going to trust you on this one, Jesse. But I have to tell you, your words aren't quite matching up with what's going on in your head."

"What do you mean?"

Well, you keep talking about Adam and how much he's taught you and what a great scientist he is. Your words make him out to be this father figure and the man who saved you, but up here – " he tapped the side of his head " – there are some negative thoughts about this guy."

This time it was Jesse who didn't say anything for a while. "I guess you were right about us not being able to keep secrets from each other."

"Care to share? I gather you haven't told the others about whatever's going on."

Jesse shrugged and looked down at the floor. "It just seems kind of petty, given all the other things we have to deal with. You remember how I told you that Adam faked his own death?"

David nodded. "And he revealed himself a few months ago. Then he was captured by the dominion, but you guys rescued him."

"Yeah. Well you were right about how I saw Adam as a father figure. As you know, I wasn't exactly close to my own father, so Adam was the closest thing I had. When Adam faked his own death so he could do more research, it felt like I was being abandoned by my own father all over again."

"So your dad never came back for you," David guessed. "Like he did all the other times."

"Nope. In fact, he pretty much sold me out to Genomex and declared me dead. Hence the death certificate you saw. Then he went to work for the Dominion, the very people who were trying to kill us. Then Adam disappears. And just before he was captured, I could see that he was seriously considering joining the Creator so he could do his research. It hurt to think that he was even considering abandoning Shalimar and me and Brennan and Mutant X, after he'd made us a family."

"But your whole family's not gone. You've got Katie. And Lexa, and Shalimar and Brennan. You guys are your own family."

"I guess you're right. I guess next you'll tell me that I should talk to Adam."

"You don't have to read my mind for that one."

"You know, we can be _your_ family too. I know that you're thinking of running again. You're worried about hurting us."

"Jesse, no. I couldn't –"

"I told you. Adam could help you with the control. Plus you said it only works when someone has a weak mind. I'm pretty sure we all have strong minds around here."

"Jesse, I can't. I can't risk destroying my family again."

Jesse flinched. "Again? What happened to your family, Peter? You never told me."

"They committed suicide."

Jesse froze. "It was an accident."

"I don't know. My mother committed suicide when I was 17. My dad was an abusive SOB who thought he was above the law because he was President and CEO of a Fortune 500 company. Everyone said it was sad that she'd done it, but I always felt like it was my fault."

"But you didn't influence her."

"No, but sometimes it felt like I did. I never made any real attempts to stop him. I wanted to stay away from it all, so I spent as much time away from the house as possible. Anyway, I came home after my first year of college and my dad came after me with a shotgun. Missed a couple of times and made some pretty big holes in the wall before he turned the gun on himself. And yes, I did influence him to do it."

"It was self defense. You had no choice."

"I guess so. After he died, I inherited everything. I sold out my shares in the company to my uncle and used the money for a new identity and college and charities. But the rest of my family still thought I needed counseling. So when Genomex came knocking…" David fell silent. He didn't need to finish the sentence

After a few moments of both of them being silent, Jesse felt compelled to energize the stillness and change the somber mood. "Man, we are a couple of _really_ screwed-up guys."

David laughed, feeling some of the tension leave his body.

"Come on. I'm discharging us. Let's go get something to eat. You can tell me all about your honorable intentions toward my sister."

David laughed again. It felt good. Jesse had always been good at cheering him up. "Deal."

"Just one more question. I'm not quite sure what to call you. Do you want me to call you Peter or David?"

David hesitated briefly. "David. Peter died in Genomex. And I've kind of gotten used to David. Does that make any sense?"

"It does, actually," Jesse said, thinking of the extant death certificate with his name on it. Now come on, _David,_ let's head off to the kitchen. I think there's some leftover Chinese."


	14. Hesitation

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**_Chapter 13: Hesitation  
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"Brennan, are you sure you don't want any help rewiring that thing?"

"No, thank you, Jess," Brennan said briskly, twisting a length of wire with a pair of pliers. "I can manage. I think I know a little something about electrical wiring." He sent a few sparks into the air with his free hand to emphasize his point. Brennan had been attempting to repair Shalimar's alarm clock for the past two hours. The clock had been one of the few things Shalimar had been able to salvage from the old sanctuary and she was rather attached to the thing, despite its ratty appearance. Thus, she nearly had a hissy fit when Brennan zapped it that morning to turn it off because he couldn't reach it. And so Brennan was now trying to make amends by fixing it, and the task had proved to be trickier than he anticipated.

"If you say so." Jesse couldn't hold back the laugh as Brennan's pliers managed to slip off and strip the wire.

David laughed along with Jesse. He had spent the night in one of Sanctuary's spare bedrooms, and now he, Katie, Jesse and Brennan were lounging in the common room. There were no more leads to follow. All the mutants on the list had been accounted for and put deep into the mutant underground and the forensic evidence hadn't led anywhere. Shalimar and Lexa were in the adjacent computer lab investigating Jacobs' old research team, hoping to find some clue as to what they should do next.

David was fidgeting with one of the throw pillows Katie had insisted on adding to the couches in the common room. "You guys are _sure _you don't mind my staying here?"

Brennan looked up. "Dude, enough already. We've already talked it into the ground. You're staying here until we catch whoever's after the psionics on that list."

"You're willing to take the risk that I might kill you?"

"Dave, man, give it up already! All of our powers are deadly, and we're always living with that risk. Just use those control techniques Jesse dug up and we'll all be fine."

"Brennan's right, David. You said before, you weren't taught control. You'll be surprised how easy it is once you set your mind to it."

Finally, David gave up. If they were willing to take the risk, it would only be fair that he do the same.

Before the conversation could be steered in another direction, Lexa strode into the room, Shalimar on her heels. "We've got another problem, boys, which may or may not be connected to the first one."

"What's up, Lex?"

"We got a call from Monica at the New York safehouse. A psionic came in who says there are people trying to kill her. From what Monica told me, the MO matches our guy, but the girl isn't on the list.

"The _whole _list?" Jesse asked.

"I went through the _entire_ list," Lexa told Jesse, referencing Jacobs' wish list that only she and Jesse knew about, ignoring the others' questioning looks. "Monica's already tried taking her to the underground, but whoever's after her caught up with them. They barely escaped. She needs us to take this girl into the underground."

"I'm on it," Brennan said raising from his seat and gladly putting aside the broken alarm clock.

"Shal, why don't you go with him," Lexa said. "I think I might have something with the search I'm running."

"Still don't want to let him out of your sight, eh?" Shalimar surmised, as Lexa followed her as she followed Brennan toward the hanger where the Helix resided.

"Who?"

"Jesse. David. Either or both."

"Okay, you caught me. So I'm worried about Jesse and I still don't know what to think about David."

"I know what you mean. But he's Jesse's friend. And Katie's. And he's a new mutant"

"He's also a mutant who doesn't know anything about the world that _we_ live in." Lexa emphasized the pronoun.

Shalimar stopped as she reached the Helix's ramp. "Okay. So how's this. We give him a chance, but keep a close eye on him."

Lexa thought for a moment before answering. "I think I can deal with that. I'm going to head back to the lab. The mutant's name is Lisa Osman. The file on her is pretty small, so there's probably not much in the database. I'll send you what we've got while you're in the air. We do know she's a psionic, but we don't know what her powers are. And this whole thing may or may not be part of the big picture, so keep an eye out."

Shalimar nodded, closed the hatch and sat down in the copilot's seat beside Brennan. Together, they made quick work of the preflight sequence, and then headed off to New York.

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* * *

"Shalimar! Brennan! Long time no see. Welcome back to New York."

"Thanks, Monica." Shalimar entered the nondescript first floor apartment, Brennan behind her. "Have you managed to find out anything more about Lisa or the people after her?"

"Not a thing. We've been laying low after what happened earlier. I was taking her to the rail station when we were attacked by a couple of thugs. Smart ones, too. I was barely able to get a fireball off at them. Fortunately, it was enough." Monica was a fire elemental. She could launch fireballs as well as ignite fires within a 20 foot radius of her person.

"They ran off?"

"Yeah. It seemed kind of strange, though. They had the upper hand, and I didn't think that one little fireball would be able to scare them away. It didn't even hit them."

"Even more reason to be careful," Brennan said his voice coming from above simply due to his superior height. "You did the right thing by calling us in."

Shalimar's brow furrowed. "Monica, how many people are staying at the safehouse right now?"

Monica had seen Shalimar in action before, so she wasn't surprised by the question. "Five. Myself, Lisa, Kura, Tyrone and Dan. Lisa's here now, but the others are out catching a movie. Why?"

"I can smell at least seven different people, not including Brennan and myself. And if I can smell them, they have been here in the last 24 hours. I didn't think there were that many people staying here."

"There aren't. We sent the last mutant out almost a week ago. You think someone's broken in," she stated.

"If they haven't broken in, they've been hanging around outside for a while. As soon as we get Lisa out of here, the rest of you should all head for a different safehouse. At least until we've had a chance to sweep the place."

"You got it. Better safe than sorry." There was a shuffling noise behind them. "Oh, here's Lisa now. Guys, this is Lisa. Lisa, this is Brennan and Shalimar. They're part of that group I told you about. They'll keep you safe and find out whoever's after you."

Lisa said nothing. She was a tentative little thing, Brennan noticed. The bio Lexa had transmitted to them mid-flight said she was 25 years old, but the lines on her face and the expression in her eyes made her seem much older. Her mousy brown hair was freshly washed and she was wearing clothes that were a size to big for her, which, judging by the style, belonged to Monica. Poor thing must have been dirty as a mud pit. Her eyes were dull, and Brennan couldn't help but wonder what had made them so. He reached out to shake her hand gently.

"I'm Brennan," he said. "We're going to take care of you."

Shalimar reached her own hand out towards the skittish young woman, but her hand paused halfway there, and her body froze. "Shh. There's someone – "

Shalimar never finished her sentence. What happened next was too fast even for Shalimar's reflexes.

There was a loud bang, followed by a white flash. Smoke filled the room, and her nose twitched at the acrid smell. Through the haze, she saw the others coughing, falling to their knees and then to the floor, out cold. In the half second that followed, as she felt her own body falling, Shalimar saw something that made her heart lurch. The petite, pallid Lisa was standing tall. Whatever had the rest of them falling to their feet and loosing consciousness was not affecting her. In fact, a hint of a smile graced her features a moment before she turned on her heel and walked out of the room. If her footsteps made noise, Shalimar couldn't hear it. Her ears felt as though they were full of cotton, and a haze filtered her vision. _Damn. A trap,_ she recognized as the gas finally pulled her all the way under and she knew no more.


	15. Lost

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**_Chapter 14: Lost_**

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Consciousness returned abruptly, and for the first few moments, Shalimar wished it hadn't. Her senses – feral and otherwise – had been on full alert when they had been attacked, and were now painfully stunned. There was a dull ringing in her ears and her eyes burned. Her nose and mouth felt like they were full of cotton.

Scanning the room, she found the origin of the problem. A grenade shell, a modified version of a gas dispersion canister, lay five feet away. Small plumes of smoke still emanated from the metal carcass, harmless now that the payload had been distributed.

Shalimar shook her head. Still trying to clear the fog. Brennan and Monica were lying to her left. Lisa, she already knew, was gone. It had been a trap, obviously. But why? And by whom?

When she felt her senses returning to normal, and the room stopped tilting, she crawled gingerly over to Brennan. "Brennan," she said softly, yet urgently. She shook his shoulder and heard him groan in response.

"Shal? What the hell happened?" He let Shalimar help him to his knees. He rubbed his temple as she moved to Monica's side, checking the young woman's vitals.

"A combination flash-concussion-gas grenade. She's still out cold. We should take her back to Sanctuary with us and have Jesse check her out." She stood and put her hands on her hips. "But that's not our biggest problem. Lisa wasn't affected by the gas. She walked right out. She had to have been in on it somehow."

"Maybe that's part of her…of her…p-powers," Brennan managed to say in a tight, hesitant voice.

Shalimar's brow furrowed at Brennan's strange tone of voice. Given that he was already conscious, the gas should have worn off by now. "Bren? Are you okay?" she asked, turning to face him.

She never got all the way around. Halfway, her senses detected something swinging toward her head, and she reflexively ducked. Quickly, she swiveled around and got into a defensive position to face her attacker.

"Brennan?!" She ducked a second swing at her head. "What the hell are you doing?!"

His only response was a grunt as he sent a punch low, toward her gut. Deftly she avoided the clenched fist. "Brennan! Snap out of it!"

Her words had no effect. The tall elemental continued to attack her. First with his fists, then with his feet. She managed to avoid most of the attacks, but then one of them grazed her shoulder, sending her off balance. Knowing she was vulnerable, and that she had to reset, Shalimar leapt over his head, twisting her body as she did so, neatly avoiding an electrical blast Brennan sent her way. Her peripheral vision noticed the shower of sparks and smoke coming from the computer panel he had destroyed instead. Her balance restored, she swung around and kicked out, her foot landing on the lower ribs of his left side, left unprotected by his outstretched arm. Now he was off balance, and she was on the attack, landing two punches and another kick to his midsection. He retaliated with an uppercut, followed by a roundhouse. Something was clearly wrong, she knew. Not only that he was attacking her, but also how he was doing it. Brennan was attacking and defending himself wildly, his arms flailing, sending electrical blasts into the air haphazardly, blasts she could easily avoid. He was usually a much more controlled fighter, which told her that, somehow, he wasn't in control of his own body.

They exchanged a few more attacks, Brennan still wild, flailing, not caring where his lightening-like bursts of electricity landed. Shalimar was pulling her punches, trying to disable rather than kill, which was what Brennan seemed intent on doing. Complicating the fight even more was the fact that she had to protect the still unconscious Monica. She wasn't able to use the terrain to her advantage; she had to lead the fight to the unoccupied part of the safehouse, running through the hallway, knocking a bookshelf over in hopes of slowing him. The move protected Monica, but limited Shalimar's options. "Brennan! Knock it off! Wake up, you jackass!"

Still, her words had no effect. He managed to corner her against a wall and sent a harsh punch straight toward her head. She ducked in the nick of time, and crawled out through his legs, taking advantage of her smaller frame. He whirled, furious. She backed away, squaring and resetting herself. She saw him growl, and then, using his powers for propulsion, charge towards her in a flying roundhouse kick. Recognizing his attack as one he had practiced countless times in the dojo, Shalimar glided one step to her left. Reaching out, she used every ounce of her coordination during the half second widow of opportunity to clamp down on and tightly grip Brennan's outstretched foot. In that same fluid movement, she added her strength to his own momentum and tossed him across the room. He landed hard against a couch, knocking it over, finally coming to a stop on the hard floor, where he lay still.

Shalimar waited. He didn't move. She approached cautiously. Brennan still didn't move. Rather, the only movement was his breathing. Reaching his side, she knelt down slowly and reached a hand out hoping that whatever had controlled him had worn off and that he would be back to his normal outlandish self.

It hadn't. As soon as her hand made contact with his shoulder, he spun around and sent a blast right at her chest. Instinct took over, and she moved to avoid the charge, but she wasn't fast enough. His attack landed square on her shoulder, sending her spinning and flying across the room. Her body slammed hard against the far wall, bouncing off and falling to the ground. And for the second time that day, she fell into the depths of unconsciousness.

* * *

* * *

"Hey, Lex. Any luck?" Jesse asked as he strode into the computer lab.

She glanced over her shoulder. "Hi, Jesse. Where're David and Katie?"

"They're in the kitchen, scrounging up some lunch." He dropped a kiss on her head and began massaging her tense shoulders with his strong hands. "Did that lead of yours ever pan out?"

Lexa didn't quite hear the question. Jesse's fingers were magical. She hadn't realized how tense she had been. And the Jesse's relaxing presence didn't hurt either. "Hmm?"

Jesse gave a low laugh, and, with her back against his chest, she could feel it reverberating through her own body. It sent warmth and shivers sailing through her body. "Are you that easily distracted, love?" he said, noticing her reaction. "Next time we get in an argument, just remind me to give you a massage."

Inwardly, Lexa was pleased with such a suggestion, but she knew she couldn't let him get away with such a taunt. Reluctantly, she pulled herself away and turned around to slap his arm.

He laughed again, and allowed her to pull away. Though they had been together for several months, she was still a bit skittish when it came to displays of affection outside the bedroom. He sat down beside her at the counter. "Have you found anything?"

Lexa brought up a new window on the screen. "Nope, just more questions. Look at this. There's almost nothing on Lisa Osman in the database. Name, age, mutant category. That's about it. There's nothing about what her powers are, if she's got any family, why her structure was altered in the first place. Nothing."

"That's strange. Have you tried the research team journals? Private records?"

"Yes and yes." She flung herself back in her seat, frustrated. "I've hit a brick wall with this."

"Well, we could try searching the entire dominion database for her name."

"Are you kidding? That thing is huge! It'd take weeks. We don't have that kind of time."

"Not if we restrict the parameters. Focus on the structured feedback systems and remove the confirmation cycles. Then we run the search sequence a few times and hopefully we'll filter out something."

Lexa turned to face him and smiled. "You just think you're so smart," she said sarcastically.

"I don't think, I know," he countered, running the fingers of his left hand through her hair, a smile gracing his own features. He dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Well if you're so smart, how come it took you four days to realize I replaced your shampoo with flea dip?"

"Hey, hey. That was below the belt. You know I was busy working on refitting that old RTS-385 to make the new Helix. I was too tired to notice. Now, why was it you did that again?" His hand curled around her waist.

"You're the one who started it. You dumped bleach in to my load of dark laundry."

"I happen to think you look good in blue. But no matter how many times we asked, you just wouldn't get rid of all those black clothes. I had to take action," he said dramatically, striking a pose. "Besides, I paid you back. I took you shopping."

She poked him in the stomach and he smiled again. "So we're even now," he said.

"Sure, unless you decide to start something again."

"Oh, I'm gonna start something." He bent his head and kissed her. Eagerly, she kissed him back, running her hands along his shoulders and back, for once ignoring the fact that they were in an open room where someone could walk in on them any minute. She felt him respond, as well as the countertop digging into her hip as he pushed against her.

They were so involved with each other they almost didn't hear the incessant beeping of the communicator. Reluctantly, Jesse pulled away. "I don't know if that was good timing or bad timing," he said as he checked the monitor. His full attention was drawn immediately. "It's from the New York safehouse. Audio only. The transmission's pretty bad. Let me see if I can clear it up." His fingers flew over the keys for a moment. "Monica? Shalimar? What's wrong?"

"Jesse? Thank goodness, I've been trying to get through for almost five minutes."

Lexa frowned at the poor quality of the transmission. "Monica. What's wrong with the video uplink?"

"Someone attacked us with a flash concussion grenade. When I woke up, the communications panel was fried pretty good. I managed to patch the radio together and I wasn't even sure I'd done it right until I got through to you."

"Where are Brennan and Shalimar? Is Lisa safe?"

"Jesse, I'm sorry, I don't know what happened. When I woke up, Brennan and Lisa were gone."

"What about Shalimar?" Jesse couldn't stop his voice from rising with concern for the woman he considered a sister.

Monica said nothing.

"Damn it, Monica. What about Shalimar?"

There was no response. The fuzzy static was gone and the connection was dead.


	16. The Million Dollar Question

  
AN: Sorry to have left you guys hanging for so long. The old 9-to-5 routine has been dragging me down this week, but I finally got this done! Hooray! And keep up the reviews! They make me happy, oh so happy! (I really wish I could add the singsong tone of voice right there. Ah, well.) -- Animiga

* * *

**_Chapter 15: The Million Dollar Question_**

* * *

****

"Shalimar? Shalimar, can you hear me?"

At the sound of her name, Shalimar made a fervent effort to pull herself out of the fog that surrounded her brain. It took a few moments, but she was finally able to do so. "Monica? What the hell is going on?"

"Oh, thank goodness! I've been trying to wake you up for almost ten minutes. I need you to contact Jesse with your comring. The communication equipment's been blown to pieces."

Shalimar glanced over to the panel that should have contained the radio, video and satellite uplink equipment. As Monica said, all that remained were metal and glass fragments, scorched wires and bent panels. At the sight, Shalimar's brain seemed to right itself and her memory pieced itself together. "Monica," she said urgently. "How long has it been?"

"I'd guess about 15 or 20 minutes. You arrived here less than half an hour ago, so I'd say closer to 20 minutes since someone threw the grenade. I messed with some of the wires, and managed to get a hold of Jesse briefly, but then the system shorted out and the transmitter died completely."

"Wait, where's Brennan?"

"I don't know. I looked around the whole house while you were out cold. He's not here. Neither is Lisa. Maybe they fought with whoever threw the grenade. That would explain all the damage. The couch is busted, some furniture had been knocked over and that wall has a few holes and scorch marks."

Shalimar swore. She remembered exactly what had happened, and that wasn't it. Drawing herself to her feet, she activated her comring with her thumb. "Jesse? Lexa? You there?"

Jesse's tense voice answered. "Shalimar! Jeez. I feared the worst when I lost contact with Monica. What happened?"

"Someone attacked the safehouse. Threw a grenade in which contained some kind of knockout gas."

"Are you guys okay?"

"Monica and I are fine, but Brennan and Lisa are gone."

"Monica said as much. What happened?"

"That's where we've got a problem." She glanced over to Monica, who was listening to the conversation attentively. "Lisa wasn't knocked out by the gas. Before I was knocked out, I saw her walking out of the building. She was completely unaffected."

Back at the Cave, Lexa could see that Jesse was perplexed and stunned by this news. "That could be possible." Lexa crossed her arms. "If the person took a neutralizing tablet or shot before they were exposed to the gas, they wouldn't be affected. The Dominion used that technique sometimes," she said to Shalimar over the comlink. "But that would mean that she was in on it from the beginning."

At the safehouse, Shalimar nodded reflexively. "Yeah. But we've got another problem. Brennan and I recovered from the gas first, and he seemed fine, but then he attacked me. He managed to knock me out. When Monica woke me up just now, he was gone."

Jesse and Lexa's voices overlapped. "What?" "He did what?"

Shalimar sighed, still trying to figure out what was going on. "He attacked me. He wasn't holding anything back either. But his fighting style wasn't quite the same. It was chaotic, like he wasn't controlling himself. Now he's gone, and from what Monica tells me, he's got a 10 or 15 minute head start. Can you track his comring?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. "No. He's not wearing it."

Shalimar spotted something across the room and went over to retrieve it. "Damn. It's here. He tossed it on the ground. Wait, is the Helix still here?"

There was another pause. A second later Shalimar thought she heard Jesse swear softly. "No. It's just past Trenton, New Jersey right now. He's on his way here. Damn. Shalimar, take care of Monica, and see if you can figure out what kind of gas was used. It might give us a clue. Lexa and I will take care of Brennan. I'll call you as soon as I get more information."

"Be careful, Jess. If he attacked me, he's capable of anything, so watch your back."

"I will. Good luck." Jesse ended the connection and turned to Lexa just in time to see Katie and David enter the room, walking side by side, but not touching.

"What's going on?" The smile on Katie's face fell when she noticed the serious looks on Jesse and Lexa's faces.

For a moment, Jesse said nothing, but David knew. "It's Brennan. Something's wrong. What can we do?"

Jesse's face relaxed somewhat. "Something happened when they went to the safehouse. They were attacked by a gas, and then Brennan turned on and attacked Shalimar. From what I can tell, he's taken the Helix and is headed this way."

There was a beeping noise behind Jesse. "Correction," he said, heading for the doorway. "He's here. The hanger door just opened. Lexa, come with me. We've got to find him before he disappears into the building. If he turned on Shalimar, who knows what else he might do."

"What do you want us to do?" Katie asked.

Lexa bent down to a computer for a moment as she was heading out the door. Jesse paused in the doorway, waiting for her. "You two stay here. Get medlab ready – just in case." To Jesse she said, "I'm activating the security grid in the hallways around the hanger. Katie – the moment we pass this point –" she indicated a location on a map of Sanctuary, "activate the closest security grid pane. Lock us in. And don't open it for anyone but Jesse or myself."

Katie nodded. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Lexa turned and followed Jesse out of the room.

David watched Lexa sprint down the hallway towards the hanger before turning back to face Katie. "So now we just wait, huh?"

Katie sat down at the computer and watched as the internal scanners traced Jesse and Lexa's movements. "Basically. I'll monitor the situation from here and help them any way I can."

David watched as Katie shuffled through the in house monitors. "You do this a lot?" he asked, making conversation.

Katie shrugged. "Sort of. In the past couple of months, I've manned the base computer if the rest of them are out on a mission. I'm kind of an associate member of Mutant X. It doesn't happen too often though."

David watched as she focused carefully on the monitoring system. A few seconds later she typed in a few keystrokes, then spoke to her finger. "Okay, guys. You're locked in behind the security grid. I don't see any evidence that Brennan's made it outside that perimeter, but I'll keep an eye on the cams." Then she turned to David. "_Now_ we wait."

The silence echoed as neither spoke for a few moments. Finally, David broke the silence, asking a question that had been nagging him for the past 12 hours or so. "Aren't you afraid to do the kind of work you do here? I mean, you could be killed at any moment by some random mutant whose powers are on the fritz or by someone who's trying to kill mutants."

"Well, sure I'm afraid. But I'm more afraid for Jesse and the others. They're the ones that put themselves in dangerous situations all the time. But they've trained themselves for all kinds of situations, and they know what they're doing. Besides, we're changing the world, albeit slowly, and saving mutants."

"You must be a minority. Most of the normal people I've known, if they even know about mutants, are afraid of them."

"Hey. I may not be a new mutant, but my brother is, and my friends are, and I want to help anyway I can. And there are a lot of people out there like me."

"There's no one out there like you."

Katie's eyes widened at the sincerity of David's voice. "What did you just say?"

A flush crept up into David's cheeks. "I…uh…" he stammered. Then he gave up trying to explain his way out of his words. "Damn, Katie. You know you're special, and unique. Who else would have stayed friends with a guy who did just about everything to avoid you for three years?"

"I'm pretty sure you know at least part of the reason why I did that."

Leaning against the desktops, he let his head drop and stared at his feet. "Yeah, I know. And I'll tell you this: the attraction was most definitely not one-sided."

Katie felt her own cheeks flush. "Why didn't you ever say anything?"

Since she knew about his powers, David decided to be blunt. "I thought I might accidentally kill you," he said his hand seemingly reaching up of its own volition to hover above her cheek. She surprised him when her reaction was to reach up and place her own hand over his gently drawing his hand closer so that he was finally touching her skin.

"Katie…" He tried to put a warning in the tone of his voice, but couldn't seem to be able to do it.

"David, look at me. I'm not afraid of you, or your powers. Even if I might have back then, and we'll never know if that would have been the case, I'm most certainly not afraid now. And I'm not afraid to have you wandering around in my thoughts. When you learn to control it, I might even be able to talk back."

David stopped fighting it. He dipped his head and touched his lips to hers. The contact to her mind had already been made so there was no surprise there. What was a surprise was the intensity of her emotions, the strength of her need for him. He deepened the kiss; she responded in kind. They changed the angle, the pressure, learning each other and enjoying every moment. He felt his body reacting to her and he groaned. Her arms snaked around his waist and he realized that his own hands were cradling the back of her head, guiding her. Her thoughts were swirling around in his own mind, breaking the cage he had placed around his own emotions for her. He was almost surprised to find they matched the intensity of hers. Censoring and restricting himself, as he had in the years since his escape from Genomex, had proved to be useless with this brave group of people. And as much as he hated to admit it, it felt damn good to feel as if he had a small bit of his life back. And he wanted to give it all to Katie.

Neither knew how long it was before the need for oxygen forced them apart. He nibbled at her lips for a moment before finally pulling back and leaning his forehead against hers. "I think I love you," he whispered.

"I think I love you, too," she whispered back. "You know…I think there's something about this room. I keep catching Jesse and Lexa and Shalimar and Brennan here."

"Well whatever it is, I hope it sticks around." He kissed his way across her features, dropping butterfly kisses across her cheeks, her eyes and her nose before coming back to her mouth.

She was just about to reach in and deepen the kiss when the lights momentarily dimmed. Her passion fogged brain managed to snap back, and she leaned back in David's arms with a frown. "Sanctuary's power system is on a routed generator network. The only think that could cause a dip like that is…" She whirled back to the computer and he watched as she skimmed through the images from security cameras.

"What is it?" he asked, placing a hand on the small of her back.

She stopped and pointed to the screen. "I found Brennan."


	17. Battlefield Mode

AN: Yea! My computer is working again! I managed to finish this chapter and get well into the next one.. woo hoo!

* * *

**_Chapter 16: Battlefield Mode  
_**

* * *

**_  
_**

****

Jesse and Lexa were slowly making their way through the corridors toward the hanger. So far, nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but it did seem odd tiptoeing through the hallways of Sanctuary as if it were enemy territory. They said nothing to each other, using the standard hand signals they used in the field to convey simple directions of each other's movements, checking the hallways and handful of rooms in the area.

Just as Lexa came back from investigating a small hallway, the lights dimmed for a moment, then came back up to full strength. In the restored light, Lexa saw the frown marring Jesse's features. She opened her mouth to ask what was wrong, but he quickly slipped a hand over her mouth, silencing the sound before it even had a chance to be made.

When he removed his hand, Lexa remained silent. "What's wrong?" she mouthed.

She could see that it took him a moment to understand what she was asking. Lip-reading was obviously not the best way to communicate in situations like this.

Finally, Jesse slipped his comring off his finger and held it up. With his other hand, he put a finger to his lips.

It still took Lexa a second or two to figure out what Jesse was saying. Charades wasn't a good form of battle field communication either. Radio silence, she finally deciphered. Without knowing were Brennan was, they would have to maintain radio and vocal silence. Holding her hands up, she silently asked him, "Then what the hell are we supposed to do?"

Jesse tapped the side of his head. "David," he mouthed.

This time she immediately understood what he was indicating. Praying it was enough, she watched as Jesse's eyes focused on a distant point and become an even lighter shade of blue.

_"David. David, can you hear me?"_

In the computer lab, David straightened at Jesse's 'voice.'

His sharp movement captured Katie's attention. "What is it?"

"It's Jesse," was all he said, holding up a hand. _"Jesse, what is it?"_

_"David! Okay, first, tell Katie to maintain radio silence. Brennan may not have his comring, but he could still overhear ours."_

David relayed the message. _"Done."_

_"Okay. Did you guys have a power surge up there?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Damn. That means that it's system wide. That's a big problem. Can you guys figure out the cause?"_

_"Already done. Katie found Brennan on the in house monitors. He's in CF-5. It's –"_

_"Level C, corridor F, room 5. It's just inside the hanger where the power relays are located. Damn."_

_"Yeah. She replayed the past 30 seconds. He was messing around in there, but I guess something wasn't going his way because he blasted the thing. Thus the power surge."_

Jesse was about to reply when the lights flashed again, and then the power went out completely. He felt Lexa's hand reach out for his arm, and was glad when they made contact. At least they knew where the other was. _"Double damn. Was that Brennan again?"_

_"Yeah. He sent a stronger charge, and power's out completely now. Katie says the emergency hall lights should come up within 30 seconds."_

_"And there they are," _Jesse communicated to David as the dim emergency lights flickered on _"They run on batteries. We need to get the main power systems back up. Most of the safehouses are still linked to our system. We've been so busy re-establishing Sanctuary and the safehouses themselves, we haven't had a chance to get them independent security and computer systems. If we don't get power back up, they'll be vulnerable."_

David recognized Jesse's worry and dipped into his friend's mind to speed the conversation ahead. _"Katie and I will see what we can do about the power situation from here. Now that we know where Brennan is, I'll have Katie restrict the security grid even more around your location. You guys just take care of Brennan. Good luck." _

_"You too. And David?"_

_"Yeah?"_

_"Welcome to the life of Mutant X."  
_

* * *

* * *

Jesse ended the conversation with David and headed toward the hanger, all but dragging Lexa behind him. Recognizing determination in his movements, Lexa followed silently. When they reached the entryway of the least used access door to the hanger, he pulled her down behind the lip of the door. In the dim light, they could make out the Helix, its engines still humming through the cool down process.

_"Jesse?"_

_"David. What's wrong?"_

_"Katie and I have done what we can rerouting power using the emergency backup systems, but there's a few blown fuses stopping an entire reboot. They need to be replaced by hand."_

A fluent series of curse words crossed Jesse's mind.

_"Jeez, Jess. You must have met a pirate or something since I've been gone. I don't remember you swearing like that before."_

Jesse's sigh was both physical and mental as David relayed which fuses needed to be replaced. _"Thanks for the info. I'll take care of it. Somehow." _

He was already deep in thought when Lexa tugged on his sleeve. When he looked up, she pointed across the room. Following her direction, he saw their quarry. Brennan was striding across the hanger, away from room CF-5 and toward the primary entrance to the hanger. Knowing he was well out of range of hearing, Jesse bent to whisper in Lexa's ear. "David and Katie have done what they can to fix the power relay panels. The 15, 25, 30, 40, 45 and 60 fuses need to be replaced. There's a toolkit and spare fuses in the floor hatch. You take care of that. I'm going to take care of Brennan."

"Jesse, are you sure? Brennan's pretty mean right now, and I could sneak up on him a lot easier than you could."

"Lexa, just go!" he whispered harshly, practically growling. "You know how important those power relays are to the safehouses. And I have experience dealing with Brennan when he's like this."

Before Lexa could counter his reasoning, Jesse pushed off the wall, and headed after Brennan, leaving Lexa no choice but to do as he said.

Putting aside her desire to grumble and chase after him so she could slap him upside the head, she set off to the panel, making it there in less than 20 strides. The toolkit and spare fuses were easy to find, the small panel springing open when she pushed against it. Her agile fingers managed to find the latch for the wall panel in the dim light, quietly unsnapping the manual locks in a matter of seconds. But once the panel was open, she encountered her first problem. The open panel door shaded the fuses and wires from what little light emanated throughout the room from the emergency lighting. Snapping her fingers, she created her own pinprick of light, barely larger than a penlight. _This _was why Jesse had sent her. He wouldn't have been able to see to make the repairs. Damn him for knowing every hinge of this place inside out. Swearing at the realization that Jesse was right, and in a subconscious effort to stifle her concern for him, she examined the circuits. Finally getting a look at the damage, Lexa groaned inwardly. This would take her several minutes to repair. In the meantime, unfortunately, Jesse would be on his own. Reluctantly, she managed to push aside her concerns for her friend and lover, reached into the tool kit for the spare 15 fuse, and got to work.


	18. Combat

**_AN: _**I appologize for the long wait, but...well, laziness along with a lack of inspiration and the drag of the 9-5 (actually 8-5) routine has wiped me out. I'm hoping to get more done this weekend, though! Keep up those reviews! They're warm fuzzies and the help with the lack of inspiration thing!

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**_Chapter 17: Combat  
_**

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**_  
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Jesse flattened himself against the wall as he approached Brennan, waiting for his instinct and experience to tell him when to move. Stopping behind the diagnostics panel, he watched as Brennan stood still for a moment staring at the door, then scanned the edges. Jesse frowned. Was Brennan planning to do something to the door? It held no strategic value; there were two other doors out of the hanger, as well as an access panel in the ceiling. Brennan continued to stare at the door, eventually placing one hand on the left side of the door, the other on the right, both about 3 ½ feet off the ground. His hands felt their way along the door and Jesse could hear the rasp of Brennan's rough hands on the smooth metal door.

Jesse watched for another few seconds before he finally understood what was happening and almost laughed in relief. The only thing Brennan was trying to do to the door was open it. Unlike the majority of doors in the world today, the doors in this Sanctuary didn't have handles, they didn't swing open, and they didn't slide open. They actually slid up, and the only way to activate them was via handprint. The scanner was a simple black pad on the left side of the door, but Brennan seemed to have forgotten about it. Or else had forgotten about it. Jesse frowned. Had Brennan turned against them, he wouldn't have a problem getting through the door. After all, he hadn't had any problems getting back to Sanctuary. Obviously, something was seriously wrong with Brennan. Hell, he had attacked _Shalimar. _But there was something else. Something didn't quite fit, wasn't quite right.

A thought flashed across Jesse's mind, but he wasn't able to linger on it because just then he saw his opening. Brennan was turning around, sure to spot him at any moment. Jesse took a deep breath. The circumstances of this confrontation with Brennan seemed so much like the last time, in that damned prison, in that damn cage. All he had to do was buy time until Lexa could help him disable Brennan. But if his thought was right, there wouldn't be nearly as much damage done this time. He stepped out from behind the panel.

"Hey, Brennan, back so soon? Did everything go okay?"

Brennan turned, his eyes focusing on the man with dirty blond hair and wearing a navy blue button up shirt. "Oh. Hey,… man. Yeah. Um, everything went fine."

Jesse approached Brennan, finally coming to a stop a good five feet away. "Were you able to fix the micro synch drive?"

"Yeah. Yeah. No problem. The, uh, hardware just had to be restored to the defaults."

"That's great. I knew you could fix it."

"Totally no problem. Hey, did you do something to the door while I was gone? I can't get it to work."

"Oh, sure." Jesse stepped closer, gliding in front of Brennan and over to the access pad on the left side of the door. "I've been trying to fix it," he said, prying open the compartment door, exposing the circuitry embedded in the wall behind it. "It's been acting up all day. Hey, how'd your date with Shalimar go the other night?"

There was no answer. Jesse knew what was coming. He had hoped that he could get Brennan talking for a while longer, but it seemed providence had other plans. As he pretended to fiddle with the circuits, he put all his senses on full alert. So when the shadow of a raised hand appeared to his right, he was ready for it.

Brennan swung his fist towards Jesse, obviously aiming for the younger man's temple. Jesse easily avoided it, phasing. As Brennan's hand and arm passed though his body, Jesse swung himself around so he was no longer trapped between Brennan and the door. Taking a breath, his body returned to its normal density, and he found his arm instinctively rising to block another punch. In a simple, swift movement, Jesse rolled his arm around Brennan's. Now with his arm on top, Jesse forced Brennan's arm down, and delivered a back hand punch to Brennan's face with his other hand. The blow landed, but not nearly hard enough to do any damage, as Brennan had pulled his body back to avoid the blow. The move put him off balance, but Brennan continued to attack, using his backward momentum to send a kick toward Jesse's head. Jesse parried the blow, moving to kick Brennan's legs out from under him and take advantage of the taller man's falling center of gravity. His ankle connected solidly with the one of Brennan's still in contact ground. Brennan started to fall completely, but then Jesse's heart almost skipped a beat when he realized that he was trapped. The muscles in Brennan's leg, the one Jesse had blocked with his hands, contracted, swinging the leg into hard contact against Jesse's ribcage, pulling him down to the ground. Brennan's full weight fell to the floor with a thud and Jesse winced as his own body fell to the ground alongside. Quickly Jesse rolled to the side and to his feet. Brennan flipped to his feet.

For a moment, Jesse's mind flashed back to that night almost two years ago. He and Brennan had been trapped in that cage. Brennan's attacks had kept him so breathless that he had only been able to phase a few times. If it hadn't been for Shalimar, Adam and Emma, Brennan could have easily killed him. His friend was trying to kill him, to damage his psyche, maim his body.

Jesse's torturous reminiscing was halted when Brennan charged him with a yell. Jesse phased, and Brennan passed right through him. But it appeared that the elemental had been expecting that, learning from the first attack. Instead of momentum carrying him far from his prey, Brennan stopped himself and whirled back on Jesse. Jesse winced as a roundhouse kick landed solidly on his ribcage. Before he had a chance to recover, a second blow caught him behind the knee, knocking him back to the ground. Quickly Jesse rolled, avoiding the boot aimed for his head. He would have phased, but the swiftness of Brennan's attacks made it difficult for him to breathe. Regaining his footing, Jesse raised his arms, blocking another blow from Brennan. He could almost feel the fury radiating off his friend's body. He punched back. Brennan grunted as the blow landed square on his cheek, and Jesse sent another blow, this time with his left hand. Brennan managed to dodge it, pulled away from the fighter's lock, and came back with a leaping kick. Jesse quickly sidestepped it. Shalimar was right, he thought, dodging and throwing a series of swift punches, only one or two of which reached its intended target. Brennan's style is normally a little wild, but not like this. The thought distracted him enough for Brennan to charge Jesse, bringing his forearm and fist down in an overhead swing. Jesse barely managed to get his arms up in a cross to block the attack. Brennan countered, pulling his harms to the side, grasping Jesse' shoulders, tugging them down and kneeing him in the solar plexus. Jesse cringed at the pain, but ducked his shoulder into Brennan's midsection and charged. With a grunt, Jesse lifted Brennan over his shoulder, flipping the taller, heavier man head over heels. He heard a crack as Brennan's body hit the floor behind him. Whipping around, he saw Brennan scrambling to his feet, cradling his right arm.

Partially disabled now, Brennan's fury reached new heights. He took two menacing steps toward Jesse, who stopped, noticing something, but then had to dash and roll to his left to avoid the surge of electricity thrown in his direction. Jesse almost winced at the feeling of residual energy in the air, which was making the small hairs at the nape of his neck stand on end. Although he had been zapped by some of Brennan's full charge energy attacks before, and knew that he could withstand them to a point, it wasn't an experience he cared to repeat. His vision blurred, and for a moment, the thought crossed his mind that one of Brennan's blows had landed a little harder than he thought. Shaking his head Jesse managed to clear the dizziness, just in time to see another blast coming his way. He almost managed to move quick enough to avoid being singed. When the charge had dissipated, he found himself still on his feet, but with a discus-sized electrical burn on his arm. His vision blurred again, but this time, after a half-second, Jesse realized what he was happening. The blurriness was Lexa, in her invisibility mode, moving against the dark background of the Helix. Of course! Basic physics, he thought. The residual energy from Brennan's electricity was reacting with the light-bending shield she created to make herself invisible.

With Lexa here, and unnoticed by Brennan, Jesse knew this was his best chance. Going on the offensive, he unleashed a quick series of martial arts movements, using the ones he often practiced in the dojo but never used in the field. Caught off guard at the vicious onslaught, and with only one arm, Brennan was forced to back up as he tried to defend himself. Jesse threw one more punch, driving him two more steps back toward Lexa. Then, though he couldn't see it, she attacked. Brennan's body jerked as a blow was delivered to his mid thigh, effectively knocking him to the ground. Then his head snapped to the side and he fell to the ground, limp, and out cold.

Making an effort to return to a natural breathing pattern, and seeing that Brennan was safely unconscious, Jesse approached and checked Brennan's vital signs, just to be safe. To his right, a flash of light told him that Lexa had returned to the visible spectrum.

"Are you okay?" she asked, fingering the burnt edges of his shirt on his upper right arm.

Jesse glanced down to the injury, which he was only now feeling. "Oh, it's no problem. I can heal this up in less than a minute. I'll just need to go to bed a little early tonight. There's this, and I'm pretty sure I broke something in Brennan's arm. Come on. Let's get him to the medlab before he wakes up."

He was just about to bend down to lift Brennan's torso when Lexa slapped him on the chest.

"Ow! Sheesh, what was that for?"

"Sorry. I would have hit your arm like I usually do, but I can't reach your other arm, and didn't want to do any more damage to this one," she said, indicating the burned limb.

"That doesn't explain why you hit me in the first place," he whined, rubbing a hand across the place where her palm had landed.

"Why didn't you wait for me? You wouldn't have had to fight Brennan like that if you waited for me. _We_ could have taken him down in half the time."

"Since when do you like to play on a team?"

"Jesse!"

"Relax," he said, rubbing his hands along her arms, then clasping her feminine hands in his larger masculine ones. "I was just teasing, okay?" He rubbed his thumb along her cheek, where a tear threatened to fall. "Look I told you, I've had experience dealing with Brennan when he's not himself like this. And trust me, this time was a lot easier; he kept his mouth shut. And plus, I had an advantage this time, knowing that I have the ability to heal myself."

"Not if you can't breathe, you don't," she said, wrapping her arms around his chest and holding him tight.

Jesse squeezed her back, trying to alleviate any of her lingering fear for his safety. "Everything's fine. I'm fine."

After a few moments, Lexa took a deep breath, pulled back and straightened her jacket, then flipped a lock of hair over her shoulder. "I wonder what the hell is wrong with Brennan."

Jesse watched Lexa examine Brennan's unconscious form. One of these days, he thought, he would finally teach her that emotions did not make a person weak. He sighed, and bent to help Lexa lift Brennan. "I'm not sure, but I might have an idea. I'll run a couple tests and I'll need David's help. But if I'm right…"

Lexa said nothing. Jesse was usually right.

"Jeezo," Jesse grunted, hefting Brennan's dead weight higher. "When he wakes up, we need to tell him to lay off the Doritos."


	19. Options

**_AN: _**_I know, I know...sorry for being so late on this chapter too! (dodges thrown objects) I've just been, well,...well, ok, I don't really have a good excuse, so...here's the next chapter!  
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_**_Chapter 18: Options  
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"Adam, you're back!"

"Yeah, this little voice kept nagging me, saying that something was off," Adam replied, a sarcastic smile gracing his features. "I was just pulling in when my car's connection to the mainframe shut down. I barely made it into the garage before the external security measures were activated and locked me out. What happened?"

"I'll tell you in a second. Here, give me a hand with him."

Adam assisted Jesse and David, who had taken over for Lexa, and lifted Brennan onto the biobed. "Now, care to tell me what's going on? What happened to Brennan?"

Jesse had been flitting about the monitoring station, but stopped moving about for a moment and dragged a hand through his hair. "Gee, uh…well, what's the last thing we told you?"

"Last I heard, you were sleeping off the effects of healing a psionic mutant named David who was a friend of Katie's. I presume you're David," he said to David, who was standing next to Katie in the corner of the room, both simply trying to stay out of the way.

"You presume correctly, sir. I take it you're Adam. Nice to meet you." He shook hands with the older gentleman. "They've told me all about you."

"Not all of it good, I presume."

David shrugged.

"Welllll," Jesse drawled. He shifted his weight to one foot, then the other. "Long story sort of short, David used to be Peter Holecker, a mutant who was with me at Genomex. He's a touch telepath, and has the power to influence people to commit suicide, but needs some help with his control. For some reason, there's an unbreakable telepathic link between us. He's one of a dozen or so mutants who were experimented on by Dr. Michael Jacobs years ago at Genomex. Jacobs is dead, but someone's been going after all the mutants in the program. A little over an hour ago, we got a call from Monica at the New York safehouse for help with a mutant named Lisa who was being attacked. Just as Bren and Shal get there, someone attacks. Lisa disappeared; Brennan attacked Shalimar, then flew here and fried the entire power grid and attacked us. Lex and I got him down, and we should probably restrain him in case he wakes up still all psycho." He held up a set of soft leather restraints which he had retrieved while he spoke.

"Well." Adam said. "Sounds like you guys have been busy." He folded his arms across his chest. "Any ideas as to why Brennan's acting like this. Could it be a steroid like it was at Hillview? Maybe in an aerosol form."

Lexa frowned in curiosity when Jesse winced. "Hillview?"

"Undercover work. Brennan was given a steroid that enhanced anger and then put in a cage to fight other guys on the same drug," Jesse explained briefly. Turning back to Adam, he said. "I don't think so. At Hillview, he was just a hyped up, angry version of himself. It wasn't like that this time. Besides, something like that would have affected Shalimar too."

"Are you sure? You said he attacked her, just like at Hillview when he attacked y-"

"I'm sure, Adam," Jesse said, cutting him off.

"What about a virus? There was that whole thing with the Army last year. Maybe they didn't destroy it all."

Again, Jesse shook his head tersely. "I don't think so, Lex. His fighting style was _way_ to wild, and it almost seemed like he didn't have full control of his powers, which he would have been if it were that virus. Plus, he was perfectly capable of speaking coherently when he needed to, but he didn't say a word while he was trying to kill me. And he _was _trying to kill me. Look, before he attacked, I tried to delay him. I asked him if he had been able to fix the micro synch drive at the safehouse. He said it just needed to be restored to the defaults. Now, first of all, there's no such thing as a micro synch drive. Secondly, even if there was, and even though Brennan's pretty smart, he wouldn't know it from a hole in the wall. And he knows that I know that he wouldn't know about things like that. But he tried to fake it." Jesse left his words hanging in the air, feeding the last leather strap through the buckle. While he was talking, Jesse had efficiently tethered each of Brennan's limbs and waist to the bed.

Adam looked at Jesse carefully before saying softly, in realization, "You think someone else is controlling his actions."

"It has to be. Brennan wasn't acting like himself at all, and he seemed lost. Brennan knows how the power grid works. If he wanted to disable it, all he had to do was enter a few codes. And when he tried to leave the hanger, he could figure out how to open the damn door. Sure, he got the Helix here, but if we look at the flight log, I'll bet that it was just on autopilot set to return home. Brennan's like a puppet right now, but whoever's pulling the strings only has control of his body, not his mind."

Lexa, Katie and David had been silent during the presentation of Jesse's theory. Lexa stepped away from Brennan's bedside. "And how exactly are we supposed to find out who's pulling these strings?" she asked, watching Adam move over to the control console and activate the golden beams that scanned Brennan's body.

"That's where David comes in." Jesse said, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. _"If you're willing, I'd like you to try to make contact with Brennan. But only if you want to. I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do,"_ he said firmly across their mental link, looking directly at David.

David met Jesse's eyes and both young men simply stood there. For a moment, Lexa thought that time had frozen around her, but then she noticed that Jesse's eyes were lighter than normal. She had spent a lot of time these last few months either looking at or into Jesse's eyes and knew them intimately. And they had definitely changed from their normal cornflower blue to a steely gray blue. Having seen the color change before, she finally made the connection and realized what it signified; she wondered what Jesse and David were silently talking about.

Finally, David nodded. Aloud, he said, "I'll do it. You'll be there?"

Lexa was about to ask what they had talked about when the beep of the console interrupted her. Adam turned his attention to it from where he, too, had been watching David and Jesse. "There are definitely indications of psionic interference. His T waves are compacted but delta and alpha waves look fine."

"What does that mean? Can we get an English translation?" Katie asked.

Adam gave a short sigh and looked around at all of them, then to the unconscious Brennan. "His body and his brain function are fine, and all else being equal, he'll be fine. The compacted T waves are one indicator of psionic interference. As long as there's not prolonged exposure, T waves should return to normal on their own within an hour or two of psionic contact."

"What happens if they don't?"

Adam grimaced. "I'd rather not consider that possibility, but in the even that a person's T waves remain compacted for a significant amount of time, meaning about 3 hours or more, permanent brain damage is highly probable. But, based on what you've told me, it's been less than an hour since his exposure; that's not enough time to cause permanent damage, so, in that respect, he's fine. What worries me is that Brennan's are still compacted even after being knocked unconscious. So either the psionic either ended contact recently or…"

"Or what?" Jesse asked sharply.

"Or the psionic is still there," Adam said with a simple shrug.

Silence. Finally, Lexa said, "Well. You certainly have a flair for the dramatic, Adam."

The older man's response was another shrug.

Katie took a step forward and reached out to take David's hand. "Is there any way for us to figure out if the psionic is still connected to Brennan?"

Adam frowned. "Off the top of my head, I can't think of anything. As usual, the best thing is for Brennan to fight it from the inside, but we have no way of knowing what kind of condition his mind is in or what kind of damage has already been done, if any. In the past, the only way we've been able to monitor things like this is from the, uh…from the inside," he concluded hesitantly.

Lexa recognized the subtle reference to reference to Emma and, more recently, the Dominion's Dr. Robinson. It had been more than a year since Emma's death, but there were times when she was reminded how much the other members of the team missed their friend. "Well, what are our other options? I mean,…wait. David, do you think you're ready to do something like this?"

Beside her, she heard Adam's sharp intake of breath. Glancing over to his stunned, yet intrigued, features she could tell that he had put two and two together, as she just had a moment ago, and figured out what David and Jesse had been talking about. Turning her gaze back to David, she waited for an answer.

David met Lexa's inquiring eyes and nodded. "We're one step ahead of you." Letting go of Katie's hand, he turned to Jesse, who reached a hand out and grasped his shoulder. David did the same, and with his other hand, he reached out to touch Brennan, ignoring Lexa's surprised protest.

Jesse felt his body jerk as David made contact with Brennan. The world seemed to spin on its axis and he felt as if his body was passing through a sheet of liquid air. Then, as quickly as hit came, the feeling passed.

_"Jesse? Are you okay?" _he heard David ask.

_"Fine.__ I didn't know it felt like that when you make first contact." He looked around at their surroundings, rubbing the back of his head with one hand... "What's going on?" _

_"I'm not sure. Normally if someone's unconscious, there's either a dreamscape or absolutely nothing." He gestured at the trees, bushes and ponds, all hanging in space at odd angles, yet not feeling out of place. "I feel like we're standing in the middle of…" _

_"David, look out!" _

_David looked up, just in time to see a blue energy ball hurtling toward him._


	20. Answers

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**_Chapter 19: Answers  
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Lexa felt her toe tapping with impatience. What was taking so long? Lost in her own thoughts, she was startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She managed to control her body's instinct to jump, but turned around to see who had touched her.

"Relax, Lexa. It's been less than a minute." Katie touched Lexa's arm reassuringly.

"Well this isn't exactly an everyday occurrence! We don't know what's going to happen, do we?!" Lexa was immediately sorry as she heard the harsh tone of her voice. "I'm sorry, Kate," she said, throwing a hand up in frustration. "But why is Jesse in there? Why would David take him in there too?"

"Brennan doesn't know David. Jesse's there as a familiar force. That, and David's not all that comfortable with his abilities yet. The connection with Jesse will help calm him down."

Lexa considered Katie's words. In the few months that she'd known Jesse's sister, Lexa had found that the young woman had a knack for saying the right words at the right time. Maybe it was because she was the only non-mutant of the group or maybe it was just her personality. If it was the latter, it would be extraordinary considering the formal and indifferent upbringing she'd had.

"Relax, Lexa," Adam said from the console, where he was trying to measure any affects on Brennan. "There's nothing we can do right now. We just have to wait, and trust them."

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"David, look out!" _

_David looked up just in time to see a blue energy ball hurtling toward him. _

_But before he even had a chance to react, Jesse was there, sliding in front of him, massing. "Get down!" he shouted, dragging David to the ground. _

_"What the hell was that?" he shouted when the shower of sparks stopped.  
_

_"That was one of Brennan's tesla coils. He's attacking us for some reason." Jesse automatically massed as another round of electrical bolts flew their way. After it ended, there was nothing for several moments, Jesse let himself take a breath, and he and David pulled themselves to their feet._

_"He's scared," David said, reaching out. "He's acting on instinct. His mind has been violated, and then all the sudden we show up. It's only natural that he attack us." _

_"Well, nice to know he's acting naturally. I'd hate to think he was mad at us," Jesse said a bit sarcastically. "How do we get him to stop?"_

_"Talk to him. See if you can get him to calm down enough for me to take a look around."_

_Jesse nodded. "Right," he said softly, then "Brennan!" he shouted into the void. "Where are you? Can you hear me?"_

_"Jesse?" Brennan's deep voice echoed. _

_"Yeah, man. I'm here."_

_"No! It's not you. You can't make me hurt them again!" _

_Jesse saw sparks dancing in the air, ready to hurl themselves at him. "Brennan, relax. It's me, I swear."_

_"No, you were Jesse before! I'm not going to let you do it again!" This time the shout was accompanied by a swift flash of blue lightening. _

_Jesse dodge the charge, half directing, half dragging David, who seemed to be locked in a meditative trance, behind him. "Brennan, you jackass! Snap out of it, man!" _

_Almost instantly, Jesse felt the electrical charge in the air disappear. An image of Brennan appeared in front of him. _

_"How are you here?" The voice and image of Brennan still projected disbelief and distrust. _

_"David brought me here. We're trying to help you. What's happening?" _

_"How do I know it's really you?"___

_Jesse thought for a moment. "Only your friends call you jackass because they're not scared of you." There seemed to be no response, only the continued threat of sparks hovering over Brennan's fingertips. Jesse tried again. "Hey, if I were someone else, would I know about that night with the pizza and the chain link fence and the thing?" ___

_"It is you." Brennan's features relaxed and the sparks disappeared. "You haven't told anyone else about that, have you?" _

_Jesse shook his head and chuckled a bit. He gripped Brennan's arm and dragged him in for a quick, back-slapping hug. "Good to have you back, man."_

_As Brennan drew back from the embrace, his relief was evident. "So what's the plan, Jess?" _

_"Well, David's going to take a look around, see if he can figure out what's going on. I know, I know," he said when Brennan held up a hand to interject. "I know you don't like people snooping around your head, but it's the only way." _

_Brennan glanced over to David, who was "standing" what seemed to be 10 feet away. As though he had already received permission, the psionic's eyes were closed, and a silver aura blurred the edge of his image. _

_Brennan opened his mouth to ask a question, but was halted by what happened next. David's eyes flashed open, his eyes bright. Jesse heard him start to shout a warning, but a sudden loud shrieking noise cut him off. Reflexively, he ducked, covering his ears as the noise echoed around them. _

_Jesse ducked too, as did Brennan. The noise grew louder, shriller until it seemed as though it were a freight train barreling towards them, breaks squealing. The noise seemed to hover over them, and the air around them shook with the intensity of the noise. The extremely low pitch caused their vision to blur and it took all they had not to fall to their knees from the incredible vibration it caused. As hard as they could, they pressed their hands over their ears, trying to drown out the overlying shrill shriek. _

_Just as suddenly as it had appeared, there was a quick flash of bright pale orange light, and all the noise was gone. Tentatively, Jesse stood up, his ears ringing from the abrupt cessation of sound. "What was that?" _

_"That," David said, straightening the blue t-shirt he wore, "was our answer."  
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Katie watched David open his eyes slowly. "Are you okay?" she asked, putting a hand on his sleeve. "Did it work?"

David smiled down at her. "It did."

"Oy. This is one of the times I'm really glad I'm not a psionic." Jesse rubbed his temples. "This is one nasty headache."

David looked over at his friend, concerned, but Adam almost laughed. "It's because you're not a psionic, Jesse; you're just not used to participating in intense psionic activity while lucid. Usually you're unconscious, for one reason or another. I would think that you'd be used to the feeling by now. As for why, it hurts for the same reason it stings for the others when you use _your_ powers on them." The smile lingered for a moment, but then his features sobered. "Did you guys find anything?"

David nodded. "There was definitely a presence there. I managed to make contact, but then it panicked and ran off."

"And that's good, right?" Lexa stated. "That means Brennan's…whatever waves will go back to normal and he'll be fine."

Adam was already back at the medical console, running another scan. As the golden rays moved along Brennan's body, he said, "If David's right, Brennan should be fine in an hour or two. But I think we should keep him restrained until his T waves return to normal. For all we know, the psionic force could return. All we can do is wait."

"No."

Jesse looked up at David's voice. Gently, he opened himself up to David's mind, seeking to understand. "What is it, David," he gently asked aloud.

David had been staring at the ground in concentration. Now, though, he looked up at the others. "The presence was familiar. I've felt it before. I recognized it."

Jesse's eyes widened a bit. "Someone from Jacobs' group?"

David nodded. "It has to be. I've never met any other psionics. I _know_ this person. I can't put my finger on who it is, though."

Lexa's eyes closed for a moment in thought. "But that doesn't make sense. According to the records, there were 12 mutants in the project. Two of them are dead, and David's right here. The other nine are in the underground – all at least 30 miles from here. Unless one of them can work from that distance..?" She looked over at Adam.

Adam shook his head. "That's highly unlikely. Unless there's already a special bond between them, like a familial or traumatic bond, I've never known a psionic able to attack or communicate from such a distance."

Jesse shifted his weight nervously. Looking over at Lexa, he asked quietly, "What about the wish list? Maybe it's more real than fantasy."

Katie's brow furrowed as she watched Lexa respond to Jesse with a shrug. "Wish list? What are you talking about?"

Adam crossed his arms over his chest, clearly wanting an explanation as well.

Jesse sighed. "Jacobs had another list. There were about two dozen psionics, in addition to the 12 he had, that he wanted to get his hands on and include in the program."

"Great, so you mean there's another 24 mutants running around out there that might be in danger or a threat? Why didn't you tell us about this?"

"Katie, I'm sorry, it's just – "

"Wait, did you say twelve?"

Katie and Jesse halted their burgeoning argument at David's strong voice. Adam and Lexa looked up from where they were just about to step in between the siblings. Lexa looked at David and then over to Jesse. "Yeah," she said. "There were only twelve mutants in the group that Jacobs' was actively working with. Why?"

"There weren't twelve. There were thirteen. I remember because my birthday's on the 13th of March."

Lexa's brows lifted in doubt. "The dominion database only listed twelve. There were twelve sets of data for each test, twelve pod locations listed, nothing to indicate that there were more than twelve in the group. Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. Who's listed in the database?"

Jesse's instinct, as well as his connection to David, practically screamed at him that this would prove to be an important lead. He quickly moved over to a terminal and opened the file that contained the names of Jacobs' group. "Well, you. Then there's Liang Zhu, Tyrone White, Dan Wakefield, Ariah Tamblyn, Rick Tamazuki…" Jesse went on to list the other six names on the list. He went slowly, allowing David to match a name to a face. After each name, David nodded.

"There's one more…I can picture her, but I can't remember her name. Arrgh! Her name is right there, right on the tip of my tongue. I remember her powers, and that was definitely her in Brennan's head. He should be fine, by the way. She's a touch telepath like me, but once she breaks contact, there's no way for her to get it back without touching the person again. Her power is manipulation. She gains control of the other person's body. The idea was that she could be used to make someone jump of a building or something, and then break contact before the person died."

This time Lexa frowned. "If that's the case, and it is her, she could have easily killed Brennan, or made Brennan kill us."

"Not like she didn't try," Jesse pointed out.

Lexa rolled her eyes, but then put on a serious face. "It had to have been Lisa. If she shook hands with Brennan or something, she could have gotten control of him that way. But with Shalimar in New York and Brennan still in la-la land, we have no way of knowing what she looks like."

David dragged a hand through his hair. "It probably is her, but I'm sure her name's not Lisa. That's not the biggest problem, though. In order for her to maintain control," he said carefully, "she has to be within smelling range. She uses her heightened sense of smell to locate and maintain contact with the person. Her range is about 100 yards."

Jesse's link to David helped him reach the conclusion first. "Holy…" Jesse's eyes widened at the implication. Almost instantly, he attacked the computer terminal, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

"Wait, if she has to be within 100 yards of the person she's controlling, and Brennan was still under her control while he was in the hanger…"

Adam finished Katie's sentence. "Then she's somewhere here in Sanctuary."


	21. Occupational Hazards

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**_Chapter 20: Occupational Hazards_**

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"She had to have come in on the Helix with Brennan, but she's not here now." Lexa slammed her hand against the doorframe of the aforementioned aircraft as she spoke to the others over the com system. "There's not even a trace of her."

"It's too bad the security grids aren't still activated." Katie said from where she and David were searching the living quarters. "Then she'd at least be confined."

"I wish they were still up too, but all non essential shielding went kaput when the she had Brennan knock out the power," Jesse said from the dojo. "Whoever she is, she knows what she's doing. She obviously knew about Mutant X and had a plan for what she was going to do when she got here. Adam, any luck with the visual systems?"

Back in the computer lab, Adam shook his head. "I've got nothing so far, Jess. She's probably been trained to spot and avoid visual security measures. But I'm working on attaching a thermal filter to some of the holographic projectors, see if we can find her that way."

Jesse searched throughout the room, being sure to check in the equipment storage locker. "I really wish Shalimar were here right about now. She'd be able to find this chick in no time."

"I do too, Jesse," Adam said quietly over the comlink. They weren't using radio silence, but they were keeping their voices down. "But we can't risk going back out to get her until we've defused the current threat."

"Yeah, I know," Jesse grumbled after he turned his comring off. Quickly, but efficiently, he finished searching the room. Then he moved on to the weight room and the sauna. There were still no traces of anyone having been there recently.

On his way out of the workout area and toward the stairs to the science lab, Jesse couldn't help but grumble under his breath. The events of the last few days were starting to get on his nerves. They were hitting too close to home. A week ago, things had seemed to be settling down. The new Helix had all but been rebuilt, there had been a few kinks, but they'd been worked out. Safehouses had been updated; the security system had been re-evaluated and overhauled based on the most recent Intel. Life had seemed like it was settling back to normal. Well, as normal as life ever got for them. He'd been entertaining thoughts of asking Lexa out for a romantic dinner at a real restaurant, hoping to break from their newly acquired habit of flirting and making out over take out Chinese boxes and security schematics. He'd even thought of breaking out the infamous Tunnel Quest for entertainment, provided he could fix it so the game wouldn't try to kill them again.

"But noooo," Jesse muttered. Someone had to start attacking psionics. To make matters worse, it seemed that whoever it was now targeting Mutant X. Now their home had been violated. Again. Which meant they would have to review security again. Mentally he groaned at the thought. Before he did though, he made sure his mind was closed off to David. Wouldn't do for his friend to hear all the moaning and groaning Jesse was doing in his head. But hey, he thought, one good thing to come out of all this was that he did have his friend back. The sullen mood returned a moment later when Jesse realized that he would have met David eventually once Katie had gotten the two of them to step away from their work for a while.

He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he was a good twenty feet beyond the storage/supply closet before he realized that he hadn't checked it. Cursing himself, he backtracked. Personal thoughts needed to be put aside right now. They were in a lockdown, and being unfocused meant someone could be hurt or killed. Carefully, he opened the door, following common protocol and staying outside while he reached his hand in to find the light switch.

And his hand came up against something that shouldn't be there. Jesse knew just about every inch of this place, and what his fingers found definitely did not belong here. He felt a hand grip his wrist.

"Aw, shit."

* * *

"The hanger and the garage are clear. Didn't even find so much as a trace of her." Lexa practically stalked into the common room, clearly frustrated.

"We struck out here too. We've checked the common room twice over, the bedrooms, everything on this level."

"This isn't going to work. We're never going to find her without Shalimar or adjusting the internal scanners. We could spend hours looking for her, and if she keeps moving, we'll just be chasing each other in circles." Lexa's left hand was dancing in the air, a testament to her frustration and uneasiness.

"She came here for a reason," Katie said, trying to be logical. "We might just have to wait for her to make her move if Adam can't alter the projectors in time."

"Right. So we wait for her to sabotage the security system or compromise our cover. Oh, joy. Come on, guys. There's got to be something else." Lexa started pacing the length of the room.

"Maybe Jesse found something," Katie said. Then, into her comring she said, "Jesse? Any luck?"

There was no response. Lexa stopped pacing and frowned. Thumbing her own comring, she spoke. "Jesse? Jesse, what's your status? Jesse, talk to me."

When there was still no response, Lexa looked up at David. "This isn't like him. I've never had to call Jesse twice. Can you, you know …talk to him?" She tapped the side of her head.

David would have smiled at Lexa's hesitancy had the look on her face betrayed her apprehension over Jesse's whereabouts. He closed his eyes, blocking out the sense of sight as if to give his 'sixth sense' better reception. Just as he made contact, he heard Lexa's voice.

"Jesse! Why didn't you answer us?"

Suppressing the impulse to open his eyes when he heard her voice, David tried harder. Something was wrong. He could reach Jesse, but he couldn't get a response.

His eyes flew open now, understanding. A surge of alarm flashed through his body when his visual cortex translated the image he was seeing. Lexa was approaching Jesse, who now stood in the doorway between the common room and the far hallway. He reached his arm out to stop Katie, who was stepping forward toward her brother. He opened his mouth to shout a warning to Lexa, but it was too late.

Lexa had reached Jesse's side. She reached out a hand, slapping Jesse on the shoulder, as he'd already seen her do many times when she was upset with him. Usually Jesse didn't even flinch, but this time the reaction was explosive. An arm flashed out, knocking away Lexa's hand; the other arm took a heavy swing, aiming for her head. Had Lexa been farther away, Jesse's fist would have connected solidly with Lexa's temple. As it was, the inside of Jesse's elbow cuffed her across the head. She went down hard, falling to her knees at Jesse's feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Lexa's voice was a combination of fear and fury. Her left hand was rubbing her temple and she was blinking away the stars that threatened to dance in front of her vision.

Jesse said nothing. He reached down to grab her shirtfront, but she spun away, quickly rising to her feet. He let his momentum carry him forward, and he sent several more punches heading her way. She managed to block or dodge all of them. But on the last one, Jesse's left leg swung out, hooking her behind her ankles, dropping her to the floor. Ignoring the pain that reverberated up her spine from her hip, Lexa looked up into Jesse's face. It was a mix of emotions. The fury was obvious, but behind it, there was evidence of a struggle. She didn't have time to ponder Jesse's emotions – heading her way was a massed fist. She tried to spin away again, but found that she was cornered against the couch. Looking up, she prepared herself for impact as she saw his fist swinging down towards her head.

The impact never came. Instead of smashing solidly against her body, Jesse passed through her, through the entire couch, in fact. Swiveling her head in disbelief, Lexa jumped to her feet and looked over the couch, where Jesse was scrambling to his feet. Fury still etched his features, but now confusion seemed to be there as well. Suddenly, Jesse closed his eyes, hard, as he was in excruciating pain.

"Run, Lex. Go!" Jesse's voice was sharp, a harsh bark.

Lexa wanted to shout out that she wasn't going to run away, that she wanted to know what the hell was happening. Before she could though, Jesse's eyes were wide open again, and he was charging, screaming a harsh, desperate, warrior's yell.

And once again, Jesse never made contact. This time it was David, who had practically jumped on Jesse's back, wrapping muscled arms around Jesse's shoulders, halting the molecular mid-run. "Lexa, he's right! Run. It's not him, it's her! She's close, find her!" David grunted as he struggled to hold Jesse back.

Lexa to a step back, torn between finding the person who was wreaking havoc on their home and sticking around to make sure Jesse didn't kill David. Or vice versa. Her choice was made for her when she heard Jesse give a loud yell. Looking over, she saw Jesse break David's hold, then throw his friend, who was about two inches taller and maybe 20 pounds heavier, across the room and onto the couch. Thinking quickly, Lexa stepped forward, striking her hands together. A huge white flash burst forth from her hands, effectively blinding the other three people in the room. While the others couldn't see her, Lexa took the necessary three steps to reach David. Grasping his arm as he struggled to right himself, she triggered her light-bending shield, effectively rendering both herself and David invisible.

Jesse stood in the middle of the room, brushing his hands across his eyes as if doing so could eliminate the white dots that danced in front of them. Finally recovering his sight, Jesse swiveled, searching for his now invisible prey. He didn't find them, but he found something else: Katie.

"Jesse, no. I saw you, you tried to warn Lexa. I know you're in there. You can fight her." His sister held out a hand, already taking a step back. "Come on, Jess. Fight it."

Jesse paid no attention to his sister, just continued to advance.

Katie skirted around the other couch in the room, while David and Lexa, invisible to the Kilmartin siblings, circled around behind them, searching for the right opportunity.

_"You said you have lasers? Any way to bring him down that way?"_ David whispered to Lexa.

Lexa jumped when she realized that she had heard David in her mind. _"What the hell?"_

_"Sorry. Occupational hazard of sorts. It'll last for about an hour, then I can break it off. Look, I can't do anything from here – she's figured out that I'm here and put a shield up. Do you have any way of knocking Jesse out? That would shake her loose."_

Lexa shook her head, forgetting that David couldn't see her as they were both invisible. _"Sorry. I don't have the concentration for that kind of thing. I can never be certain if I'll fire a lethal bolt. Jesse can block my lethal ones if he masses. But you saw how he phased right through that couch! He doesn't have control over his powers right now."_

_"He's fighting _her_ for control. Look how he's circling Katie. If he was under her complete control he would have attacked by now."_

Lexa watched Jesse. David was right. But Jesse was losing the fight with whoever controlled his mind. His body was getting closer, and a massed fist hovered ominously in the air. Time seemed to freeze for a moment, and no one moved. Stalemate.

And then everything happened quickly. Jesse charged, his face a mix of anger and anguish. Katie screamed. David and Lexa reached out, as if they could do something from where they stood across the room.

Jesse charged. Then he disappeared.


	22. Jessica

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* * *

Chapter 21: Jessica_**

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"Where the hell did he go?" David asked, clearly confused. To Katie, David's voice seemed to come out of midair, but was revealed to come from the southwest side of the room as Lexa dropped the invisibility shield.

"He phased through the floor. He does it all the time – it's his "personal shortcut" from the house to Sanctuary. But he put a landing pad in the place he normally uses." Katie's voice was unsteady. Lexa had to remember that this was the first time Katie had come face to face with the forces against Mutant X. The fact that it had come in the form of her own brother probably had something to do with the fact that she could see Katie shaking just a bit.

Lexa watched as David stepped over to put an arm around Katie's waist. She bit her bottom lip. "Jesse wasn't in complete control of his powers. What if he wasn't able to drop out of the phase soon enough? David, can you find him?"

David looked ahead and was silent for a moment. "He's alive, Lexa," he said, allaying her obvious fears. "He's unconscious, though."

"Adam?" Lexa spoke to the open air. "Can you get a fix on Jesse?"

"Yeeeah. Got him. He's in the science lab, two levels down. What happened?"

"She got to him, and he tried to attack us. Somehow, he managed to get control and phase away from us. She's got to be within 100 yards of our location.

"I'll limit the search parameters to that range. Look, no, you need to stay down. There's no telling what kind of residual damage there might be."

Katie saw Lexa's brow furrow in confusion. "I'm sorry, what was that, Adam."

"Sorry, Lexa, not you. Brennan's waking up, and, as usual, his aversion for the biobed is rearing its ugly head. He's not too fond of the restraints either."

"Well at least he's awake. Look, Adam, have you had any luck with the thermal scanners? We really need to find her."

"Understatement of the year. I've almost got it; I just have to figure out how to reroute the power without shutting down power to the entire place. In the meantime, I don't want you guys splitting up again. After what happened to Jesse, you need to keep an eye on each other. Easy, Brennan. I'm taking them off. Just relax."

"Someone has to go down and check on Jesse." Lexa made a move toward the stairs to the science lab.

David grabbed her arm. "You heard what Adam said. We can't risk her getting a hold of your. Besides, Jesse's already waking up. He'll be fine. He can take care of himself."

Lexa sighed. Frustration was building up inside, but she knew Adam and David were right. Gathering the others, she headed off into the west corridor, beginning their search for the errant mutant seemingly bent on driving her up the wall.

* * *

Everything was blurry at first. Then it didn't matter that the blurriness had faded, because everything was dark. For a terrifying moment, Jesse knew that he was blind.

Then his logic kicked in. Don't jump to conclusions, you idiot, he told himself. Slowly, carefully, he lifted himself off the floor. As he did so, the tinkling of broken glass echoed in the otherwise silent room as it fell from his body. After standing up he took stock, and realized that the room wasn't completely dark. A few instrument panels around the room were illuminated, casting an eerie glow around the room that didn't reach the floor because countertops blocked the path of light.

He was in the science lab, he realized. The good news, he realized, was that, given that scent couldn't travel though the ceiling, he was no longer in the psionic's range. It was also good news that he had managed to release the phase before he fell through the science lab floor. As the science lab was the lowest of the three levels of sanctuary, he would have phased into solid rock if he had been unable to drop the phase. He couldn't help the shudder that ran down his spine at the brief thought of being trapped in solid rock. He took a few steps away from the pile of broken glass, and winced. The bad news was that, with sanctuary's high ceilings, he had just done a free fall the real world equivalent of 5 stories and landed on the shelf in the middle of the room that contained beakers, flasks, cylinders and the like. Ouch. After a moment, his eyes adjusted to the darkness and he looked around to assess the damage. The shelving was a total loss, as was the majority of the glass equipment stored there.

As for himself, one arm was clearly broken, a couple of ribs had been broken and he could feel blood oozing from numerous cuts, some deeper than others. He didn't have time or the energy to fix the injuries right now, though. He had to make sure the others were okay. He may be well out of her range, but the others were in close proximity. Painfully raising his broken arm, which was unfortunately the one with his comring, he contacted the others.

"Hey guys, are you okay?"

"Jesse!" He could hear the relief in Katie's voice. "We're fine. Are _you_ okay?"

He grimaced slightly, flexing his sore shoulders. "Everything's fine, considering. We're going to need a new shelf for the science lab though. Have you guys managed to find her?"

Jesse could almost see David shaking his head. "Sorry, Jess. She keeps moving, and we don't dare split up after what happened to you. Adam's working on adjusting thermal scanners, but…"

"I'll get up there. I was working on that a few weeks ago. Look, this girl, she's tiny. Five feet tall, if that. And she's sneaky. She's lying in wait for someone. I couldn't tell why she's here, but she needs one of us to do whatever she's trying to do. You guys need to stay together."

"Already doing it. Adam's up in the medlab with Brennan. Get up there and see what you can do to help him help us find this bitch."

* * *

After they had closed the comlink with Jesse, Lexa turned her attention back on their task. Together, the three of them rechecked everything on the A level of Sanctuary: the bedrooms, the common room and several miscellaneous rooms. Then they made their way down to the B level and entered the largest room, the training dojo. Since it primarily a large open room, it was easily searched, and they moved on to the locker room and showers, storage locker and the stage for the holographic platform. Finding nothing in any of those locations, they moved on.

Lexa stepped out of the training area, into the hallway that led to the kitchen. What she saw made her freeze in her tracks. Immediately she put her hands up to keep the situation under control. David and Katie, close behind, barely managed to stop in time to avoid slamming into Lexa's back. Seeing what Lexa saw, they too put their hands up. A small woman, almost five feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes stood facing them in the hallway.

"Jessica?" David asked, only partially astonished, but cautious when he saw the gun in the young woman's hand.

"Peter. I should have known you'd team up with people like this."

"I go by David now, thank you very much. And I think it's you that's allied yourself with the wrong crowd."

Lexa looked over her shoulder at David. "Care to clue us in, David?"

"Remember how I told you there were thirteen, not twelve? This is Jessica Woodbury. I remember her name now."

"It figures that you'd forget about us, Peter. Forget all about the friends and doctors that helped you. And how did you pay them back? You killed them and ran off. You ruined the program!

"Jessica, they weren't trying to help us. They were using us! And I didn't kill them on purpose."

"You just never understood. You never gave it a chance. They could have changed your life! Instead, you ruined it for us all."

David noticed the petite woman's hands start to shake with anger. "Jessica," he began, but stopped as the gun waved back and forth between himself, Lexa and Katie.

"Just shut up. Shut up! You don't know anything! You never understood. And now you'll destroy everything again. I can't let you do it."

David reflexively made sure Katie was behind him. "Jessica, let me show you…"

"No! You'll never get it, will you? I'm not supposed to do this yet, but you're not leaving me any choice!" She put both hands on the gun and put her arms straight out, aiming the weapon at David's chest.

David saw her finger tighten on the trigger, and he fought the instinct to close his eyes against the inevitable.

Jessica Woodbury may have been trained in the stealth arts and a dangerous psionic, but her luck was absolutely atrocious. Once again, before she could deliver a lethal blow, she was interrupted. Before her finger could pull the trigger, her whole body jerked, and blue tendrils of electricity danced over her. A moment later, she fell to the ground, unconscious.

David, Katie and Lexa's gazes all followed her fall. Once she hit the ground, they looked up. Standing twenty feet down the hallway was Brennan, standing upright, but leaning heavily against the wall.

"I've never been fond of other people digging around in my head. Now come on, let's get her back to medlab and see if we can find out what the hell is going on in that twisted little mind of hers."


	23. Einstein on Toast

**_ AN: _**Sorry about the delay, but with the site's mini-implosion and being at my aunt's house were there's basically read-only internet access....well, yeah. Anyway, here's the next chapter, and I hope to get the next one here within a few days as consolation for the wait.

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**_Chapter 22: Einstein on Toast_**

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David looked up at Brennan as he stepped over to Jessica's prone form. "How did you know to make like the cavalry?"

"Jesse and Adam got the thermal scanners going. They used to holographic projectors in the dojo to find her. I was the only one who could attack her with out touching her or killing her."

"Yeah, well, not that I don't appreciate it, but you didn't have to cut it so close. She might have fired when you zapped her, too."

Brennan shook his head. "Nah. When I shock people, it completely immobilizes them. There are no spasmodic aftershocks for at least five seconds. By then she would be on the ground." He took a step closer. "You need help lifting her?"

"No thanks, she's pretty tiny. Besides, no offense, but it doesn't look like you could lift a blanket, much less a person."

"Hey, I'm good. The chick just wiped me out with her mind control thing. Adam says it shouldn't last long."

"Yeah, well, I still don't want you touching her. You either," he said, pointing to Lexa and Katie, both of whom had stepped closer. "She might be unconscious, but you never know when she'll wake up. She's a danger to anyone who touches her, but I've already got a shield that will keep her out of my head. I made it years ago, when I first met her. Come on," he said, hefting the small woman over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Let's get her restrained before she causes anymore damage."

* * *

"Jesse! Are you all right?" Lexa stalked to his side, looking him over, trying to assure herself that he was okay. It was hard to do so when she could see blood trailing down from several cuts on his face and arms, one of which – just above his eyebrow – looked fairly deep. And his right forearm was bent at an angle that proclaimed the limb to be broken.

He looked over from where he was watching David place Jessica on the biobed Brennan had recently vacated. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Then how come you're still bleeding?" she asked, gently gliding her fingers over a cut on his temple then showing him the blood on her fingertips. "And doesn't your arm hurt?" she asked, unconsciously trying to figure out if there was something wrong with him, something that prevented him from feeling the pain of his own injuries.

He looked over into her eyes, saw the concern. "Sorry. I didn't want to heal myself yet in case it made me lightheaded to the point where I wouldn't be able to help you guys."

"Well, we're fine now. Take care of yourself," she said softly, running her hand down his cheek, along his neck, and to his shoulder.

He shuddered at the joy her simple touch sent through his body. He couldn't help but smile at her concern. "Yes, mommy."

Lexa looked like she wanted to slap him. He cut her off at the pass, dropping a swift kiss on her lips before moving over to the nearest chair, where he could heal his wounds without falling to the floor if he got dizzy.

In the middle of the room, Adam cleared his throat to get everyone's attention from where it had been focused on Jesse and Lexa. "I'm going to put a governor on her. We need her awake to question her, but she's too dangerous without one. Any objections? Or better ideas?"

Brennan shook his head. "I hate governors as much as the next mutant, but I'll admit they're useful in cases like this." He watched as Adam put a biorhythms monitor on the girl's neck, then placed a tool at the back of her neck. He couldn't help but wince at the sound of the governor going in. "It's not too hard for me to figure out that her name isn't Lisa Osman, like she told Monica. Any idea who she really is?"

"Her name is Jessica Woodbury. She was in my test group at Genomex."

Brennan looked over at David. "Why the hell would she have a grudge against you? You were just as much a victim as she was."

"I don't know. Maybe something happened after I escaped."

Their attention was drawn back to the biobed when they heard a moan. After a quick glance at the monitor to make sure there wasn't a medical problem, Adam leaned in closer. "Jessica? Can you hear me?"

Jessica's eyes flew open. When she took in her surroundings, she began to fight against the restraints. "Hey, hey. You're okay, you're safe," Adam said quickly, trying to calm her. As her powers had been disabled by the governor, he held one of her hands to the bed, motioning for David to do the same on the other side.

"Peter, don't you touch me, you bastard. You're screwing everything up! Let me go! You'll ruin everything! I need to finish my job."

Adam looked over at David, who took the hint and backed away, showing Lisa his hands. Quickly, Brennan stepped forward, taking David's place, holding Lisa's left hand down on the bed. "I'm not touching you anymore," David said. "Talk to me, Jessica. What's your job? Maybe we can help you."

"You have to take it out."

Brennan looked from Adam to David and then back down at Jessica. "What do we have to take out?"

Her left hand tugged inward against Adam's restraining hand. "Take it out," she screeched.

Adam winced, but didn't let go of her hand. "If you mean the governor, I'm afraid we can't take that out. Not yet."

"No! You have to let me finish! Mom needs me to finish!" Jessica continued to struggle against Adam and Brennan. She began to buck her lower body, her legs flying. Lexa managed to dodge one flailing foot, before grabbing both and tackling them to the biobed. Katie moved forward to help.

"We're never going to get anything out of her this way," Lexa said loudly, trying to be heard over Jessica's screeching.

Adam sighed. "I thought as much, but I was hoping we wouldn't have to. Jesse, there's a dose of phenobarbital in the top drawer."

Jesse, his arm now strait and the cuts on his face no longer bleeding, reached into the drawer for the tranquilizer. He reached between Lexa and Adam and jammed one end of the hypodermic needle into Jessica's thigh, injecting the drug into the girl. Almost instantly, the chemical began to depress her actions and she stilled. When the thrashing finally stopped, the other four pulled back. Adam immediately checked her vitals and peered into her eyes to check her pupils.

"She's unconscious."

Brennan looked over. "How are we supposed to question her now?"

Adam looked up at the tall elemental. "The phenobarbital shouldn't have knocked her out, only subdue her. Either she's on some medication that reacts with phenobarbital – and I can't think of any common ones that would react this way – or she's just sensitive to the drug." He moved over to the medlab console and motioned for everyone else to stand back while he activated the scanners. When the scan was done, he stepped over to the console to check the results. "Einstein on toast," he said softly.

Jesse recognized Adam's version of a swear word. "What is it?"

"She's got traces of duridexol in her system. It's a depressant and stabilizing medication," he answered before anyone could ask the question. "It's commonly prescribed for people who are borderline schizophrenic."

"You mean she's a nut job?"

"Yes, Brennan, she is mentally unstable," Adam said, emphasizing the politically correct term. "The duridexol is supposed to stabilize her, but given the amount in her system, or lack thereof, I'd say she's missed a couple of doses."

Lexa considered this information. "Any chance we could make her stable by just giving her a dose of this drug?"

Adam shook his head. "Duridexol is a very sensitive drug, a combination of duridorium and hexidol. Quasi-experimental, fairly new to the market. From what I've read, it's got a 97 percent success rate when applied appropriately. The problem is that each prescription has to be custom prepared by the person's physician and pharmacologist. If there's too much hexidol mixed in, it could cause heart failure. Without her records, it would take me a week to run the necessary tests to mix up the right batch for her."

"So what exactly are we supposed to do? She was sent here for something. There might be someone else who'll try when they realized that she failed."

"At this point, Brennan, the only thing we can do for her is wait. I can get started on making her medication, but like I said, it'll take me at least a few days."

"I'll get started digging through Dominion records. I never found anything about Lisa Osman, but maybe I can find something on Jessica Woodbury."

Jesse stretched his shoulders. "Good idea, Lex. Brennan, how are you feeling?"

Brennan stood from where he had been leaning against the console, watching Adam start the scans on Jessica. "Fine. Dizziness is gone. I'm not quite 100 percent, but I could take on a dozen guys."

"How about one feisty feral?"

"Uh, sure… Oh, shit!" he said in realization.

Jesse and Lexa both laughed at Brennan's expression. "Why don't you take the Helix and pick up Shalimar. I'm sure she's prowling in circles by now," Jesse said. "I'd call her on the comm. system, but external communications went caput when you fried the power grid. I'll take me just as long to reroute and restore the system as it would for you to go pick her up."

Brennan nodded but started shifting his weight around from one foot to the other. When Lexa saw him look over at Jesse, she got the hint and stepped over to Katie, striking up a conversation about the Dominion database.

Brennan, grateful that Lexa had gotten the hint, stepped closer to Jesse. "Shalimar is going to kick my ass. Any idea on how to prevent it?"

Again, Jesse smiled. "I'm sure she'll just be happy to see you're okay."

Brennan shook his head. "I went at her pretty hard. She's gonna kill me, whether I'm under mind control or not."

Jesse's expression turned curious. "You remember what happened while Jessica had a hold of you?"

"Yeah. Don't you? And, hey, I'm sorry about attacking you like that. How's your arm?"

"Water under the bridge and my arm's fine. Jessica never had complete control over me, so I'm not surprised I remember. I wasn't sure if you would though."

"Yeah, well, I remember. And Shalimar'll drop kick me first, ask questions later."

Jesse snickered. Brennan glared at him. "It's not funny!"

"No, it's funny because you're right." Jesse calmed himself. "Okay, okay. Look, why don't you take Katie with you."

"Why?"

Jesse resisted the urge to slap Brennan upside the head. "Well, first, Katie needs to learn how to pilot the Helix anyway, and this is a short trip as good as any to start learning. Second, Shalimar knows I wouldn't let Katie go into a dangerous situation. When she sees Katie with you, she'll know you're safe."

Brennan chucked Jesse on the shoulder. "I knew there was a reason we keep you around," he joked. "Seriously, man. Thanks. You better get cleaned up before Shalimar gets back. You've still got blood all over your face and shirt. If she sees that she'll start clucking like a mother hen."

"Yeah, yeah. Go get Katie and get your ass out of here."


	24. The Jacobs Connection

**_AN:_** I told you I'd be back soon! And here's a nice long chapter, too!

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**_Chapter 23: The Jacobs Connection_**

Jesse quickly toweled his hair dry then tossed the wet towel into the laundry hamper in the corner. It had been easier to take a shower than to try and clean all the individual streaks of blood from his hands, arms, chest and face. Reaching into his dresser, he pulled out a pair of boxer briefs, then pulled a blue button down shirt and a pair of khakis out of his closet. After getting dressed, and not feeling particularly inclined to wear actual shoes, he slipped his feet into a pair of sandals as he walked out the door.

Coming down the metal staircase into the common room/computer lab area, he saw Shalimar sitting at one of the computer terminals beside Lexa. He wasn't surprised to see her. After Brennan and Katie had left, he had gone to work fixing the external communications and repairing whatever other damaged the power outage had created – which wasn't much. It was only when the computer screen indicated that the Helix was returning to the hanger that Jesse realized that he hadn't yet cleaned of the blood from his now healed wounds, and he was about 30 seconds away from Shalimar fussing and fretting over him. He had dashed upstairs to take a shower. So, now that he was done and back downstairs, he wasn't surprised that she was back. He _was _surprised that Brennan was standing behind the blond feral, massaging her shoulders obediently.

"Hey Shal." He bent down to kiss her cheek. "I see you got back in one piece. Any injuries I should know about?" he asked as he bent down and started fidgeting with and looking at the research Lexa was doing.

"Nothing that can't heal on its own, Dr. Jesse." She smiled when he stopped his meddling and frowned at her. "Relax. Just a couple of bruises, and, no offense, but I'm not too fond of the idea of my molecules being rearranged every time I fall down and bump my knee. So, if it's all the same to you, you just stay over there."

Jesse conceded with a smile. "Fine. So, did they catch you up on what happened?"

"Sure did. Lexa and I are digging around for information on Jessica Woodbury."

"And what's Brennan doing?" Jesse asked, indicating his friend, who was still rubbing Shalimar's shoulders and hadn't spoken a word since Jesse had come downstairs.

"Brennan's being punished."

Had Jesse been drinking anything, he would have choked. "Excuse me?"

Shalimar smirked, and Jesse could see that Lexa was trying to hide a laugh. "Brennan's being punished for attacking me at the safehouse in New York and you in the hanger. He has to give me a massage whenever I want and has to take me shopping next time we have a break."

"Um, Shal, dear, first, I think that part about the massage any time was a little too much information. Second, you do know he was basically under mind control at the time, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

Jesse lifted an eyebrow.

Shalimar said nothing, but then finally she cracked. She put on a pout behind which she was clearly laughing "Spoilsport," she said to Jesse. Then, to Brennan, "I guess you're off the hook."

Brennan dropped his hands from Shalimar's shoulders. "I knew that."

By now, Lexa's smile had turned into a full blown laugh. Brennan glared at her. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lexa said to him in between gasps of air. "It's just that she's got you wrapped around her little finger. So bad."

Jesse saw the beginnings of a blush creep into Brennan's cheeks. And though he was just as amused as Lexa, the code of male ethics and the situation dictated that he get everyone back on track. "All right, all right. You've had your fun. Any luck finding information on Jessica Woodbury?"

"I've got something that may pan out," Lexa said. "Shalimar's checking our copies of Genomex records for me, and we just may get lucky." Then she yelped when Jesse pinched her hip when she said the phrase "get lucky." She elbowed him playfully but seriously. "Anyway," she drawled out. "I'll probably have something in about 10 or 15 minutes. Why don't you go help Adam do – whatever it is Adam's doing."

Shalimar was surprised to see Jesse hesitate for a moment before taking Lexa's suggestion and go across the room into medbay. She looked over to Lexa for an explanation, but the woman had her own eyes on Jesse's retreating form before returning to her work. Not being able to catch her eye, Shalimar looked over to Brennan. He had been watching Jesse too, and when she caught his gaze, she could tell that Brennan knew something about his friend's momentary awkward pause. Brennan shook his head lightly, indicating that now wasn't the time to talk about it.

Shalimar sighed, but turned back the computer. She knew that finding information about the attack on sanctuary took precedence right now, but that didn't mean she was going to let the subject drop. She made a mental note to talk to Brennan later, shook her blond curls slightly, and opened the next file pathway.

Jesse stepped into the medlab at the same time Katie entered from the other door on the other side of the room. Looking down, he saw that she carried several vials and test tubes in her hand. Behind her was David, who was carrying a medium sized piece of equipment Jesse recognized as a telescopic chemical analyzer from the science lab down stairs.

"Good to know that thing's still in one piece," he joked lamely.

David recognized Jesse's effort at humor, though clearly neither of them felt it. "Yeah, it's a mess down there. What, you felt you had to land on the biggest pile of glass possible?"

Jesse indicated the analyzer with a nod of his head. "Adam ask you to bring that up?"

"Yeah, he wanted to work closer to Jessica, be able to keep an eye on her." David set the analyzer on the countertop, where Adam indicated, then went and sat in one of the other chairs in the room. The attempt at humor from moments before was gone, and he was practically motionless now.

Katie and Jesse both watched him sit down, where he proceeded to stare at Jessica's prone form. The two siblings glanced at each other for a moment, and Katie nodded her head in David's direction, before moving to help Adam. Jesse walked over to the chairs and sat beside his friend.

After a moment, he asked, "So how much do you remember about her?"

David continued to stare at Jessica, and said nothing. After a few more moments, just as Jesse was beginning to wonder if he would need to prod him again, David did speak, but it wasn't aloud. _"She was the youngest one there."_

Jesse nodded. Obviously, David didn't feel comfortable enough to talk aloud about the subject yet, meaning he didn't want the others in the room to know. _"Adam and the others didn't do many more genetic alterations after they did mine. I think the last person they worked on is 23 years old now. Not much younger than me."_

_"And only five years younger than me. I was 19, almost 20 when I was at Genomex. She was only 14. That's not so much of a difference now, but it was 8 ½ years ago. We were usually paired off with someone during the tests. Whenever I was paired off with her, I remember thinking how childish she was acting. I mean, most new mutants I've met mature before their time because of, well…circumstances. I chalked up her behavior to the fact that she was so young, but what I'm seeing now is making me wonder."_

Jesse nodded his head in understanding. _"She's probably been unstable most of her life. And then being a fourteen year old psionic undergoing test with people several years older than you, in a place like that… That's enough to drive all but the strongest of people off the edge. Anyone who can survive Genomex has to be a strong person."_ The inflection in Jesse's "voice" made it clear he was directing the comment at David.

_David gave a wry chuckle. "Sometimes I wonder. I keep thinking about what she said to me in the hallway." _

Jesse gave him a look that was both questioning and prompting. It took David a moment to remember that Jesse hadn't been in the hallway when they'd confronted Jessica. He replayed the memory for Jesse. _"She said that I ruined it for them all. It makes me wonder what kind of changes were made after I left. How would things have been different if I had stayed."_

_"David, playing "what if" like that is not a good idea. You're only one person, and the things that happened at Genomex are _not_ your fault."_

_"Yeah, I know, but I can't help thinking how things might have been different if I hadn't been so weak. Those three scientists that I killed –"_

_"Hey!" Jesse interrupted. "I've been through your memory of that. There were a lot of mistakes that day, but none of them were yours. Jacobs was crazy to think that he could work with mutants with abilities like yours and not have people get hurt. You were upset because you thought I was dead – it was obvious from your behavior – yet he still insisted on running tests that day. As a scientist, he should have known better than to try doing tests on an upset psionic. To top it all off, based on the records and your sensory memory, someone turned off your subdermal governor remotely before you were even out of the pod – which was completely against protocol and the stupidest thing someone could have done in those circumstances."_

David said nothing, but Jesse could tell that he was replaying the memories of his escape from Genomex, trying to distance himself and see the events from someone else's perspective. It took a while longer, but Jesse saw the change in David. The psionic looked up at his friend. "Maybe you're right," he said aloud.

"Who's right?"

David and Jesse looked up at the sound of Shalimar's voice. She, Brennan and Lexa had just walked into the room. Lexa was carrying some printouts in her hand.

"Jesse's right," David answered.

Shalimar shrugged and a teasing smile graced her features. "He usually is. Doesn't it suck?"

David laughed. "Yeah, it does. What brings you guys in here? I thought you were scrounging up information on Jessica."

"We were, and we did," Lexa said, holding up the printouts.

Shalimar put both hands on the back side of her hips. "And we've got good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Jesse stood and started meandering around the room. But he stayed in the part of the room opposite Adam, Shalimar noticed. "How about the good news first," he said. "That way I can be happy before I get depressed."

"Okay, then," Lexa said. "The good news is that we found files on Jessica Woodbury. The name Lisa Osman was clearly an alias, and once I was able to track the origin of the file we had on her, I found that it was created 3 ½ months ago, right about the time the dominion facility went kablooey."

"Any idea on who created it?" Jesse asked.

Lexa made a noise. "I had a hard enough time finding the origin of the file…but I did manage to find the identifying origin code on the file. And it belongs to the dominion. The problem is that it's one of the most generic access codes in the entire system. Any one of two hundred people could have created that file."

Brennan frowned. "And this is the good news how?"

Lexa shook her head. "It's not, really. It's a complete dead end, and we can forget about it if our other lead pans out."

"And that other lead is…" Jesse prompted. As he spoke, he had one hand inside the other, cracking his knuckles. Lexa recognized the gesture. It was something he often did when he was frustrated. Shalimar, though, remembered the history behind Jesse's knuckle cracking. When Jesse had first come to Sanctuary, and Adam was putting the young molecular through his paces, Jesse often got frustrated. To keep himself from inflicting his anger towards Adam – which could be fatal given the nature of his powers – Jesse had taken to massaging and cracking his knuckles. After a time the habit died out as Jesse matured and his emotions faded and were redirected. But it seemed now that the habit had returned. Sparing an unnoticed glance toward Adam, Shalimar tried to recall when Jesse had resumed the habit, but found that she couldn't. Damn. Lexa's voice brought her back to the present.

"The other lead is Jessica's mother. See, she said that her mom needed her to finish. The simplest solution was that she was actually talking about her mother. According to encrypted dominion files, Jessica's mother is Holly Jacobs."

The name caught David's attention. "Any relation to Michael Jacobs?"

Shalimar answered the question. "According to the records we were able to find, Holly married Dr. Michael Jacobs – Genomex scientist extraordinaire – about 12 years ago. They met when she and her ex-husband – whom she had recently divorced – had brought their 4 year old daughter to the Genomex in an effort to have her autism treated or reversed. All hubby's idea, by the way."

Adam frowned. "I don't remember her. One of my colleagues must have worked with her case. Wait, no. She should at least be familiar. Autism wasn't something we worked with often, and I went through every single case later when I was trying to figure out the source of the genetic mutations."

"Well, there's a reason for that," Lexa said. "Anyway, because her father was still a part of her life at the time, Jessica kept his name when mommy later remarried. Jessica was treated successfully, and then went to live with her father. He died when she was 13. We did a background check on him – completely clean. So that's a dead end. But after he died, she went to live with her mother and Jacobs. So we do a search on her. She worked for Genomex, and later for the dominion… ever since she brought Jessica in. The first seven years she worked under her maiden name of Holly Frost."

"That name I remember," Adam interjected. "She was a secretary in the records office. She didn't have any technical or academic training, but she could manipulate with the best of the powers that be. And she was just as cold as her name implied."

Lexa nodded. "That goes along with what we found out about her. Her name didn't appear on many files, but she sure as hell benefited from a lot of the policies and programs. Three months after Jessica came to live with her, Genomex changed the minimum age requirement for psionic studies from 16 to 13. Two months later, a loophole was put in place, allowing children of Genomex employees to be included in the programs without a psychiatric evaluation, which was one of Genomex's so-called 'precautions.' Twenty-four hours after that, Jessica was in Jacobs' program, housed in the Genomex facility…"

"Meaning the pods," Jesse mumbled under his breath. Only David heard him, and that was because Jesse was transmitting the same thing over their mental link.

"… and completely off Holly's hands. At least until Jacobs' program was curtailed. Then, best we can tell, Jessica went back to live with her mother, and all her records were deleted from inside the agency. Probably by mommy dearest."

"Jesus," Brennan muttered. Then, louder, "Sounds like Madam Jacobs didn't care for her daughter too much, you know, handing her off to her father and then to Genomex. I wouldn't think Jessica would give a flying fu – fig about her mom too much after that. But you really think that when she screaming earlier about her mom needing her to finish she was actually talking about her mother?"

Lexa shrugged. "It's our best lead. But as far as Jessica goes, we don't really know what kind of condition she's in mentally. She never had a psychiatric evaluation before going into Jacobs' program, and as Adam said earlier, the medication she was taking indicates that she's borderline schizophrenic. But my guess is yes, Holly Jacobs is the one pulling her strings, and likely the one behind all the attacks on the psionics in Jacobs' program."

Jesse crossed his arms. "Great. All we need to do now is find Holly."

"That's where the bad news comes in. After Genomex folded, Holly went to work for the Dominion. I remember her name from the manifest list. Herein lies the problem: when Dominion HQ went all kablooey, lady Jacobs disappeared along with hundreds of other scientists, security personnel, etc. No traces. No addresses. Nothing. There hasn't been enough time since then for them to make a misstep that might give us information."

"Maybe not."

The others turned at the sound of David's voice. He had been silent up to this point. "What do you mean?" Brennan asked.

"Well, I'd say Jessica failing to do whatever she planned to do and us capturing her is a pretty big misstep, wouldn't you?"

Katie put down the vials she had been labeling for Adam. "Well, yeah, but what exactly are we supposed to get from it? We can't exactly question her right now. Adam said that the reaction to the phenobarbital will probably keep her unconscious for a few days. We don't know when or if she'll wake up once we get the duridexol back in her system."

"But think about it," David said, walking up to Jessica's bedside. I went into Brennan's consciousness earlier. Why couldn't I do the same here?"

"Oh, no," Adam protested. "Last time you went in before I could give adequate protest. I know you're Jesse's friend and all, but based on what he's told me, and the records I've read, you don't yet have the type of control or experience needed for something like this."

"But I've already done it. I went into Brennan's mind, and we got the information we needed and everything was fine."

"I'm still against it. Brennan's mind is perfectly stable. Jessica's is not. There's no telling what might happen if you go in there." The tension in both Adam and David's voice was obvious. Adam's voice was even rising in volume to match David's.

"I've worked with her before. I have a shield that I can put up so she can't do anything to me."

"Exactly, you have a shield against her. In order to make contact with her, you're going to have to lower or destroy that shield. We have no idea what might happen then!"

"We have to try something! Whoever is after us is attacking the other mutants in the program again, even though they're going into the underground. There's a mole or a traitor out there somewhere!"

The others heard Lexa's sharp intake of breath. "How did you know that? I haven't had a chance to tell you guys about that yet."

"Sorry about that, Lexa," David said, not dropping his gaze from Adam. "The telepathic contact hasn't faded yet."

"But it's been almost three hours. I thought you said it would go away in an hour."

"Usually, it does. Sometimes it takes longer."

"This is _exactly _why you shouldn't try this, David," Adam pointed out. "Even you don't know the scope and limitations of your abilities."

"What if he had an anchor?"

Adam and David stopped glowering at each other when they heard the voice coming from the corner of the room.

"What do you mean, Jesse?" Shalimar asked.

"I mean…what if David had an anchor. Someone who could keep him grounded and help pull him out if necessary."

Adam scratched the side of his head. "Well, I guess I could give the okay if that were the case. But there aren't exactly many psionics in the area with that kind of training. It takes months to build up that kind of strength. In fact, the only psionics I know who have that kind of training work for the Dominion. And as Lexa said, we don't exactly have their phone number on speed dial."

"I could do it," Jesse said evenly

The room was silent.

Finally, Adam spoke. "Look, Jesse, I know you want to help, and I know you were with David in Brennan's mind. But those were extenuating circumstances. You knew the minds of all those involved, and even then it was a tremendously risky thing to do. But to do it for Jessica? You don't have that training, you don't have the experience, and you're not a psionic."

"I've been trained. Why else do you think I encouraged David to enter Brennan's mind in the first place? And why I went with him? I knew I could pull him out if I needed to."

Shalimar's brow furrowed and she hesitated in confusion. "But, Jesse, where would you get that kind of training? And when? Hell, from who?"

Jesse said nothing, but he shifted his weight from one foot to the other uncomfortably.

Adam walked around the biobed and put a hand on Jesse's shoulder. Jesse flinched and avoided his mentor's gaze. "Jesse," he said squarely. "What do you mean you're trained?"


	25. Bygones

**_AN:_** I debated about whether to make this part it's own chapter or make it part of the next and decided on the former. Warning: spoilers for "No Man Left Behind," although I may have taken a few liberties with the scences, since I can't remember them exactly...

**_Chapter 24: Bygones_**

"Jesse," Adam said squarely. "What do you mean you're trained? Jesse?"

"It started with Emma," he said quietly.

Adam stood up straight. "Of course," he said softly, bringing his fingertips to the bridge of his nose. "I taught her the methods when she first got here. It's important for telempaths to be able to withdraw from the minds of others. Getting trapped in the emotions and thoughts of others can potentially drive them crazy." Turning back to Jesse, he asked, "But why did she teach you? Most non-psionics couldn't learn or do any of those things."

Jesse shrugged. "She felt guilty," he said sadly.

Brennan still wasn't quite understanding why Emma would teach only Jesse, and then not tell any of the others about it. "I don't understand. What would she have to feel guilty about?"

Jesse took a deep breath and started pacing again. "Okay, well, do you guys remember when we pulled Captain Morrison out of Kovakhstan?" he asked Shalimar, Brennan and Adam. When they nodded in the affirmative, he continued. "Well, Emma and I were left behind to repair the Helix after it went down. But before we could finish, we were discovered by a contingent of local rebel soldiers. There was no way we could take them all on and still protect the Helix. So Emma went out on a limb and tried something new. She projected a huge burst of fear and terror. The guys went down like a ton of bricks, too terrified to move."

"Damn," Shalimar said softly. "I didn't think Emma was that powerful then."

"Yeah, well, that was the extent of her powers at the time. She didn't have enough control to direct the emotional charge. So everything within a 100 yard radius got hit by the blast, including me."

Shalimar swore under her breath again. "No wonder Emma felt guilty."

"That's not exactly the whole story, Shal," Jesse said. His shoulders rose and fell as he took a deep breath and then let it out. "She told me what she was going to do before she did it. And I agreed. It was our only option at that point. The problem was that the blast disabled me as well. I couldn't function well enough to stand or walk let alone make the last repairs to and fly the Helix. To make things worse, my proximity to Emma meant she was getting a secondary reading off whatever was happening to me. So she did the only thing she could." He paused, biting his lower lip, for another breath. "She went into my mind and constructed an emotional memory block. I recovered almost instantly, fixed the Helix, we took off and I had no idea memory of what happened whatsoever."

Brennan swore fiercely. David and Katie looked up, startled by the outburst. The others didn't seem surprised at the intensity of Brennan's voice. Katie looked from Jesse to Brennan to Adam to Shalimar and back again. "I don't understand. What does that mean?"

Adam looked over to Katie and said quietly, "Altering someone's memory like that, usually only short fragments of time – while easy for many psionics – is very dangerous for the recipient. It could result in brain damage or worse. Emma and Jesse were both lucky that it was successful. Furthermore, psionics – all mutants in general, really – even some of those who lack scruples, consider it to be crude and uncouth. No wonder Emma felt guilty."

The others nodded their agreement. Then something started nagging at Lexa's mind. "Jesse…if you had no memory of what happened, how did you even find out about it?"

Jesse made a face, grimacing at the memory. "The block only lasted for a couple months. It broke down completely in just a few days. Fortunately, Emma and I were the only ones at Sanctuary. You three –" he indicated Brennan, Shalimar and Adam, "– were working undercover on a mission…I don't remember which one right now. But she helped me deal with it, with the memories and the fear. She said she felt guilty for doing it to me. I reminded her that she didn't exactly have a choice at the time, although I was pretty angry about having to go through it, but she insisted on making up for it. She said that since my mind was somehow strong enough to break the block, it was probably strong enough to break other psionic holds – given some guidance. She decided I should learn some tactics to resist other psionics. So she started training me."

"You said it _started_ with Emma."

"Yeah. A few months after...after Emma died, I started working with a telekinetic psionic named Ryan Hue. I taught him what Emma had taught me. As you know, Adam, teaching is one of the best ways to reinforce learning. Two months later, he went into the underground, so the lessons stopped. Then, a while back, I started working with Dr. Robinson."

Shalimar jerked to her feet. "Wait. Dr. Robinson? As in the Dominion's Dr. Robinson? Jess, how could you! She works for the Dominion!"

"We didn't do anything except practice attacks and blocks!" Jesse argued defensively. She didn't come here, and I didn't go there. We worked in a public place. And I made sure to guard my knowledge and memories from her whenever we did."

"I'm sure you did, but, jeez, Jess. Who knows what she reported back to the Dominion? Hell, what if she was able to dig in your mind and then put a memory block on you?!"

"It would have broken down by now, Brennan! Think about it," Jesse said edgily. "Emma was one of the strongest psionics out there, and her memory block only lasted _two months_. It's been almost seven months since I stopped working with Robinson. And the only reason I did it in the first place was because she noticed. After I was shot, she used her powers to connect you and me so that you could help me fight that god-forsaken bullet. She noticed that it took a hell of a lot of her energy to make the connection, and even then, if you'll take the time to remember, the connections never lasted long. Afterward, she asked me if I'd ever had anti-psionic training, and if I was willing to practice with her. Maybe it was because she looked like she needed a friend, maybe it was because the question made me miss Emma, but I said yes! If that pisses you off, fine. Sue me, I don't give a shit!"

"Yeah it pisses me off! But that's not what matters here. Even if you had your blocks or whatever in place, she still could have used you to find out stuff. She could have hurt the team."

"What kind of stuff are you talking about Brennan?! At that time, the Dominion practically controlled _us_! I don't think there was much about us that they didn't already know."

Lexa grimaced, remembering her original purpose for coming to Mutant X.

"They didn't know that you had had anti-psionic training," Brennan shouted back at Jesse. "Oh, wait, but then you just flat-out fucking told them that you did. And how could you not tell us about it! Who knows, it might have helped us somewhere along the way."

"Everyone's entitled to secrets Brennan. Sometimes lives depend on someone keeping their mouth shut."

"Yeah, but not the kind of secrets you've been keeping, Jesse. Think about all the secrets that you've been keeping all these years that we just found out about – your family, your time at Genomex. I thought I knew you, man. I thought you were my friend. I'm not so sure about that anymore."

"Hey, hey, all right. Enough already." Katie stepped between Jesse and Brennan. The interruption caused the two men to take their attention off each other and take a step back. "Look, this whole thing started when Jesse told us that he has the training to be an anchor for David if we decide to go into Jessica's mind. From what he's told me, it looks like he does have the training. And given the fact that whoever is behind all this is starting the attacks again, I say we let them go in. What do you think?"

Shalimar said nothing. She was standing in the corner next to Adam, opposite the room from Jesse, fuming silently. She was clearly just as upset as Brennan about Jesse's most recent revelations.

Lexa thought for a moment. Finally, she nodded. "I say go for it. They both know the risks. And we don't really have any other bright ideas right now." Silently, she thought, _"I can't wait until this is over. We need a break. How long has it been since any of us got a decent night's sleep? Or anything more than a catnap for that matter."_

_"At least three days," _David replied in her mind.

Lexa was startled for a second, and glanced over to David, who shrugged, causing her to remember that the involuntary link between herself and David hadn't faded yet. She pushed it to the back of her mind though, as they both turned to Adam for his opinion.

Adam felt their stares. "All right," he said after a while. "But I'm not exactly happy about it. Lexa's right, this is our best option at this point." Turning to Jesse and David, he emotionless asked, "Do you guys need anything?"

"No." Jesse looked from Adam to Jessica, sparing brief glances for Shalimar and Brennan along the way. Behind him, David grabbed two chairs. They sat down next to Jessica's biobed and set out to discover what made young Jessica Woodbury tick.


	26. LaLa Land

**_AN:_** Sorry it's been so long since a post, but it's been slow going. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for too long, so here's the next chapter. More should come soon, as I'm hoping to get more done this weekend.

* * *

**_Chapter 25: _****_La-La_****_Land_**

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* * *

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Jesse once again experienced the strange sensation of the world tilting on its axis while he passed through liquid air. After it stopped, preparing himself for anything, he quickly rose to his feet inside the mental construct. He dusted himself and took in his surroundings.

And found them bizarrely normal. He found himself standing on a street corner in a nice, mid-scale residential neighborhood. The signs above his head told him he was standing on the corner of Cherry St. and Willow Ave. Jogging across the street toward him was David.

"Is this weird or what?"

Jesse frowned. "What do you mean? It looks like your nice, normal, average middle class neighborhood. Including white picket fence and swing set in the backyard," he pointed out, indicating said objects.

"I know. That's what's so weird. I know you haven't had a lot of experience actually _being in_ someone else's mind, and the experience you have had wasn't really normal, but remember how I told you there's usually a dreamscape or absolute nothingness?"

"Yeah…this doesn't count as a dreamscape?"

"Well, I mean, it could be. But it's too precise, too accurate. Usually dreamscapes have a fragmented perspective – kind of like looking at the world through the bottom of a coke bottle. But this…this is so pristine, so clear. It's almost like I'm inside a movie or in the real world."

"Huh. Never thought I'd see the day when normal was weird. So what do we do now?"

"Find Jessica. There aren't exactly a lot of people here, in case you haven't noticed, so it shouldn't be too hard." David walked past Jesse and headed down Cherry St. As he did so, Jesse looked around more and was startled to realize that David was right. There didn't seem to anyone around besides the two of them. No kids playing in the yard, no mailmen, no cars driving down the street – though there were a few parked in random driveways. The streets were deserted; the backyard swing was moving slightly in the breeze. Shaking his head, Jesse followed David.

Two blocks later, they found her. Sort of. They only person they saw, in fact the only person they had seen at all, was a little girl. She looked to be about five or six years old, all knobby knees and skinny limbs, dressed in a pair of jean shorts and a bright green top. Her chin-length brown hair, held back from her face by a pink headband, bounced freely as she hopped along the sidewalk on one foot. Jesse watched her hop down the sidewalk, bend down on one foot to retrieve a small rock, straighten, turn around and promptly hop back the other direction. Looking at the small boxes traced onto the sidewalk with yellow chalk, Jesse recognized what the girl was doing. She was playing hopscotch, a game Katie had played when she was this girl's age.

David stepped into the girl's line of sight. "Jessica?" he asked softly.

The little girl looked up and froze, just as she was about to toss the rock into one of the chalk boxes. "Who are you?" she asked candidly. "I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. Daddy said so." Turning back to her game, she threw the stone and started hopping again.

David looked over to Jesse, who shrugged. Turning back to the little girl, he said, "Your daddy was absolutely right. But I'm not a stranger, not really. I've known you for a long time, you just don't remember me."

"Oh yeah?" she countered.

"Yeah," David said evenly, kneeling down to be at eye level with the girl, though staying several feet away.

"Prove it."

"Okay," he said, hoping to hell he remembered enough about Jessica from their limited days together at Genomex. "Ask me a question."

"If you know me, what's my dog's name?"

David relaxed a bit. "Her name's Birdy. You called her that because you said her legs looked like a bird's legs. But your daddy called her bird-brain, because she was so stupid."

Little Jessica seemed to think on this. "Okay, I guess you're right, you do know me. What's your name?"

"I'm David, and this is my friend Jesse."

"Jessie? That's a girl's name. That's what Daddy calls me sometimes."

"Well, his name is Jesse too. It's spelled different, so then it's a boys' name."

"You mean with different letters? I guess it's okay then."

Jesse looked down to David and made a circling motion with his hand. David took the hint and decided to get to the point in his discussion with the little girl. "Jessica? Can you tell us where your mommy is?"

"I don't want to go to mommy's house. I like it here with daddy."

"Oh, no. It's okay. We're not going to take you to her; we just want to know where she is. We've got a problem and we think she might be able to help us."

"She's at work right now."

"Do you know where her work is? Have you ever been there?"

"The mean old law-er took me there once. He said I had to live with mommy. She lives at her work. Don't tell her, but I came back to Daddy's house because I don't like it there. But mommy still loves me. I know she loves me because I do what she says."

David sent a glance up at Jesse. This girl may look like she was 5 years old, but she certainly sounded like the older version of herself. Turning back to the little girl, David asked, "Do you think you could help us find your mommy's work?"

I don't member where it is 'xactly. But we have to take two busses to get there from here. And it's near the water. And it's a green house. I member because I said it didn't look like a work because it was a house not a big building and it was green 'stead of black or brown. But there's a park 'round the corner. It's only a little park, but that's okay. It's still fun, because it's got a jungle gym. I can hang upside down on the inside? Can you do that?" She tossed the stone again and started hopping down the squares.

"I don't know if I can do that. But I think we can find your mommy's work." David ignored Jesse's heavy hand on his shoulder. "But we're a little lost right now. Do you know where we are now?"

Jesse, meanwhile, was becoming increasingly unsettled. The dreamscape, or what ever they were in, was getting stranger. Of in the distance, he swore that he had seen a couple of trees start to swirl, as if they were images painted on water going down the drain. He increased the pressure on his friend's shoulder.

Either David didn't notice or he ignored Jesse's silent warning completely. "Do you know what city we're in, sweetie?"

For a moment, he saw that the little girl shook her head. The next moment Jesse had grabbed a hold of his collar and dragged him to his feet. "What?!" David shook Jesse's hand off. "We need to get all the information we can."

"No. We need to leave. Now." Jesse pointed to the trees across the street.

David looked over at the strong maple trees swaying in the breeze. "What are you talking about?" He turned back around to ask little Jessica another question. Jesse stopped him with both hands on his shoulders this time.

"David, we have to go _now_. The place is becoming unstable. I don't know why you can't see it. Maybe you're too close to the situation or something. But this dreamscape is falling apart. Let's go. Now."

Again, David shrugged out of Jesse's grip, taking a few steps back. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"David. I'm the anchor here. Your perspective's obviously been compromised. You're a psionic, you're vulnerable to her actions, conscious or unconscious. I'm the anchor, and I say we leave. Now." Jesse's voice was surprisingly harsh.

"Fine." Grudgingly, David closed his eyes and concentrated on pulling both himself and Jesse out of Jessica's mind. He looked up at Jesse, shock clear on his face. "I can't. I can't pull out."

Jesse swore.


	27. Puzzle Pieces

**_AN:_**_ Massive apologies for the length between updates. There were just a lot of things that happened simultaneously, and I couldn't do any writing for a while. I'm back now, and here's a good sized chapter for y'all._**_

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**_Chapter 26: Puzzle Pieces_**

Katie wiped a cool, damp cloth across David's forehead, clearing his brow of the sweat that had appeared suddenly a few moments before. No one had said anything, but from the looks on the others' faces, she knew that they were all concerned when David suddenly began sweating, his body beginning to sway slightly, as if it were having trouble keeping itself upright. Jesse still seemed okay, though his face was tight. Whether it was due to pain or due to concentration, there was no way to tell.

She headed to the medbay's sink to rinse out the cloth. Seconds after she left his side, David's body started to fall. Distressed, Katie lurched back, but Brennan beat her to him. She heard the tall man swear under his breath as he moved to lift David away from Lisa and onto the other bio bed. A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"No," Adam said simply. "There's no way of knowing what will happen to him or Jesse if he breaks physical contact." He glanced at David's left hand, which rested in Jessica's right. "Just hold him upright. That's all we can do right now."

On her left, Katie heard Lexa cursing as well. Seconds later, the light bending mutant brushed past her and attached biorhythms monitors to both David and Jesse.

"Stupid," Lexa muttered under her breath. "Should have put them on before they went in." She went back to the monitoring station. "Both of their pulses are erratic. David's blood pressure is dropping. If it falls much more we're going to have to take action."

Adam looked over at the display and nodded. "Agreed. But let's hope Jesse's as good as he says he is and can get them both out of there soon. I don't want to fathom the possible consequences if they don't."

* * *

"I can't do it! I can't pull out!" David could feel the panic rising up at the realization. Looking away from Jesse's face, he began to see what his friend had already started seeing. The trees had become the centers of swirling vortices. The streets are bending and buckling like the old Tacoma Narrows bridge had before it collapsed, the thought, comparing the sight with video footage from the old Discovery Channel video he'd seen years ago. The sky was no longer a clear blue but an otherworldly blend of gray and neon green. Whirling back to the little girl he had been speaking to only moments ago, she found that she was gone. The boxes for her game of hopscotch were still there though. Only now, they were in 3-D and hoping towards him. The panic began to amplify. A whistling sound caught his attention. Looking up, he found its source: a streaking, swirling band of blue energy charging toward him. Reflexively he ducked to the side, and the energy passed by, crashing into the tree behind him, turning the foliage into bright blue and green flames. The panic edged its way into terror. 

"David!" The voice almost broke though the panic and terror of being caught in a surrealistic world over which he had no control.

The voice shouted his name again, and this time it was accompanied by a harsh sting on his cheek. Forcing himself to focus, David saw the stern face of his friend Jesse.

"Jess?" He barely managed to control his voice. "What the hell is going on?"

"Good, you're back! I thought I'd lost you for a bit there. Come on, focus. We can still get out of here. But I need you to focus. David!"

"What?" David turned back to Jesse, realizing that he'd gotten distracted by the terrifying array of colors and objects now surrounding them. "Right, focus. Okay, I'm focusing. But can't you see those energy bolts coming at us? We've got to get away from them."

"No David. I can take care of those." Almost on cue, on streaming bolt headed directly for them. Jesse held his hand out to the sky. Seconds later, the energy was deflected away harmlessly, heading off in another direction. "See. It's a shield. One of the things Emma taught me. Now look. You just concentrate on pulling us out. I won't let anything hurt you. I promise. Now do it!" Jesse's already stern voice was punctuated by a demanding tone.

David felt himself nodding. He was bound and determined to match Jesse's calm. Closing his eyes, he reached for the internal switch that would trigger a pull out. He swore at himself when he reached out and couldn't grasp it. Taking a second breath, he concentrated again. More than just _his _life was depending on this. He took a moment longer to collect his energy and reached out again. This time he was rewarded with a familiar version of a tilted world and a wall of liquid air.

* * *

The bright lights were the first thing Jesse registered after being pulled out of Jessica's dreamscape. They were so bright, and he hadn't even opened is eyes. At least, he didn't think so, because there weren't any shapes, just bright light. 

"Ohhh," he groaned. He reached up to the back of his neck, hoping he could massage away part of the headache that way. His fingers encountered a soft plastic node, and he recognized it as a biorhythms monitor. He started to take it off, but a gentle hand stopped him.

"Not yet. Lexa and Adam want to make sure everything's okay with you before that comes off."

Daring to open his eyes, Jesse became aware of the fact that he was still sitting in the chair, leaning up against Jessica's biobed. Daring to turn his head, and pleasantly surprised that the movement didn't cause further pain, he saw that Shalimar stood over his left shoulder. In front of him, across Jessica's still prone form, he could see Brennan lifting David onto the other biobed. Adam stood at the head of the bed, waving some diagnostic device Jesse didn't care to recall at the moment. Katie stood on the other side of the bed, clasping David's hand.

"Is David…?" Jesse's voice was hoarse, as if he hadn't used it in years, as he let the sentence trail off.

"He's fine," Katie said, looking over. "In fact, he's waking up now."

The relief on Jesse's face was evident. Lifting his hands to rub his temples, he then asked, "Have you got any ibuprofen?" He asked the blond standing near him.

Shalimar glanced over to Lexa. Lexa double checked the biorhythm readings before reaching into a nearby drawer. Pulling out a small white bottle with a child proof cap, she tossed it to Shalimar, who was coming back from the medbay sink with a small paper cup of water. Shalimar handed both to Jesse. Jesse fiddled with the child proof cap for a moment, and Shalimar reached over his shoulder to open the bottle for him.

Jesse shook her off. "I got it, Shal. I've always had trouble with these stupid things. It's amazing," he muttered. "Humankind has come up with a billion and one ways to destroy itself, yet it can't make a better version of a child proof cap." After the 5th attempt, Jesse gave in. He phased a small hole in the top of the cap and shook two pills out into his palm. He held up the bottle in a small gesture of victory, and then tossed it back to Lexa, who replaced it in the drawer. Shalimar relaxed. If her 'little brother' was well enough to phase something like that, he was clearly well enough to take care of himself.

Five minutes later, David was in much the same condition as Jesse. Alive, well, and the proud owner of a splitting headache. Finally, Brennan asked the question they had all been wondering since Jesse and David returned.

"Did you guys find anything?"

David sighed and shook his head. "I was right about Jessica being childish. But as far as anything useful, I don't think so. The only thing she told as was about a park with monkey bars."

"Hey, hey. Now, I think we got more than that."

The attention swiveled to Jesse. "What are you talking about, Jesse. You were there. All she would talk about was that playground. Oh, and it was near the water. But there are millions of places like that."

"Yeah, I know, but there were other clues. The street names, for example."

"But how much of that is real? For all we know, she made it all up."

"True, but we knew that going in. It was a risk. But I've been at this a lot longer than you have, Dave, and any lead is a good lead."

Lexa put a hand on Jesse's waist. "Where did this spurt of optimism come from?"

Jesse sent back a half scoff, half smirk. "Let's not call it optimism. Let's call it a second wind. I want this case over with as soon as possible."

"You're not the only one," Katie said. "So what _did_ you find?"

"Well," he said, scooting over to the nearest computer. "From what little I know about her, Jessica strikes me as the type who bends reality to fit her world, rather than creating her own facts, so at least some of what we found in her head has to be true. Let's see… We started at the corner of Cherry St. and Willow Ave. That's a start – we can look for all those intersections. She said it took two busses to get there, which means you'd have to transfer somewhere along the way. I'm willing to bet those are inner-city busses, since long trips would bore someone like Jessica, and she'd stop paying attention. It also lets us concentrate on larger cities. Then she mentioned the park. She said it was little, so we can eliminate the really big parks. And it has a jungle gym. Not all parks have those, so that's another way we can eliminate possibilities."

"And she said it was a green house," David added. "Not an office building."

"Right. Which means we can restrict our search to residential areas. And she said it was near water. And while one's concept of 'near' and 'far' differs, I'm guessing that little Jessica meant that you could see the water from the house."

"But there's no way of knowing weather that's an ocean, a lake, a river, or hell, a stupid little backyard creek. Not to mention the fact that with today's technology, even using that information, she could be describing anywhere in the U.S. Anywhere in the world, for that matter."

"Hey, hey. No negative thinking, Brennan. We're trying to get on a roll here," Jesse said, still looking at the computer, on which he was opening several programs.

Brennan shrugged. "Sorry. But you got to admit, all of this is a long shot."

Jesse swiveled in the seat. "Yeah, maybe. But it's kinda all we got right now, Bren." The rancor in both men's statements made it clear that neither Jesse nor Brennan had recovered from their earlier fight.

Shalimar quickly stepped in between the two, sensing the rising conflict. "All right, boys. That's enough. You guys are starting to sound like kindergarteners who need a nap."

"Actually that's not a half-bad idea," Adam said, closing the portable diagnostics computer, removing the biorhythms monitor from David's neck and putting both in a drawer. "You all look exhausted and are starting to get snappy. When's the last time any of you got any sleep?"

Lexa shrugged, remembering that she asked herself the exact same question earlier. "I couldn't tell you, Adam."

"Well, look. It's currently three am on Thursday morning, and we've all had a busy week. I slept on the train back from Burstyn's place eight hours ago. I'm good for another eight hours at the very least. I'm willing to bet none of you have slept in almost twenty four hours."

At their conceding nods, Adam continued. "Look, none of you are going to be any good to anyone else if you're dead on your feet. How about this? Jesse, Lexa, create search parameters, permutations and scenarios for the database to scan through. We'll let it run overnight, and sift through the results in the morning. Shalimar, Brennan, do a security sweep, make sure the place is locked down and all alarms are active. Katie, give me a hand with a few things in here. Then I want you all to go to sleep. You've got one hour. Then I don't want to see any of your faces until noon."

"Adam…" Jesse objected, his tone indicating what he thought of that idea. "There are other mutant's lives at stake. We don't have the luxury –"

"Jesse." Adam interrupted right back. "I'm serious. I don't want to think what might happen if you're too tired to use your powers or can't think fast enough and someone pays the price. If something happens, I'll wake you guys up. But you all need your sleep. Especially you. From what I can tell, you've had to use your healing powers for a broken arm, a bad burn, cuts, bruises, and probably a few broken ribs. Plus you've been traversing through the minds of two different people. Your body, as well as your mind, needs to rest."

Jesse looked as if he was about to protest again, but was stopped when he felt Lexa's hand on his shoulder. "I think Adam's right. We're already showing signs of sleep deprivation."

Brennan and Shalimar spared a quick glance before also agreeing. A few moments later, they were all going about their assigned tasks.

Except David, who was assigned to rest, as the sojourn into Jessica's mind had taken a lot from him. He sat on the biobed, observing the others. He watched Brennan and Shalimar leave the room, heading towards the hanger. Katie was checking the restraints on Jessica's bed and pulling out a quilt for the still unconscious psionic. Adam was at the medical console, running some kind of test or analyzing something, he couldn't tell. Through the glass wall that separated medbay from the computer lab, he could see Jesse and Lexa typing at adjoining computer terminals. He recognized one of Jesse's movements as a furious hacking at the backspace key. David didn't need to be an empath to sense the frustration in Jesse at whatever mistake he had made. But as a telepath, he could hear the thoughts that went along with it.

_"Damn him. I hate when he's right. I should have seen the same thing earlier. But still, what the hell gives him the right to tell us what to do?"_


	28. In the Night

**_AN:_** I'd say I'm running out of excuses for waiting so long (comparatively) between posts. But I have some good ones! One, I got a full time job, so I don't have as much time as I used to. Two, last weekend, I finally caved and bought seasons one and two on DVD...so I've been watching those, catching up on my MX lore. But! The good news is that I have another story idea, so I really want to get this story finished so I can start that one....but anyway, here's the next chapter.**_  
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**_Chapter 27: In the Night_**

Brennan and Shalimar walked side by side as they returned from the main entrance, where they had double and triple checked the security measures. Shalimar's heeled boots clicked along the floor. Brennan watched her feet move: heel, toe; heel, toe. Suddenly they stopped and turned toward him. Surprised, he looked up to see her looking up at him, one smooth eyebrow arched, obviously wondering why in the hell he was looking at her feet.

"Shal, have I told you how sorry I am?" The tentative voice and sheepish expression seemed strange coming from such a large man.

Shalimar rolled her eyes. "Yes, Brennan. Enough already. You must have apologized a thousand times by now."

"Well, I mean it. I really am sorry for, well, you know." He rocked back on his heels.

"Yes, I know, and you're forgiven." He relaxed a bit. "You weren't exactly yourself.

His shoulders relaxed even more. It seemed he was finally starting to believe it. They started walking again. "Yeah, well… hey, why is it always me who's getting brain fried?"

Shalimar's eyebrows quirked and she tried to stifle a laugh. "What are you talking about?"

He shrugged one shoulder. "Well, think about it. There was this time. And there was that time we infiltrated that military facility when the virus broke out. Not to mention what happened at Hillv– well, you get the idea."

"Brennan, Brennan, Brennan."

"What?"

"The world doesn't exactly revolve around you," she teased. "But hey, look at it this way: all those things happened because you were on the front line, one of the first people to get in there when things go wrong."

"Yeah, well…" He let the sentence drop off as they reached the door to his bedroom. "Are you coming in, Miss Shalimar?" he asked, letting a playful tone enter his voice.

"Why, of course," she smiled back.

Brennan opened the door and held it open in a courtly gesture. "After you, my lady."

He followed her into the room, sliding the door closed behind him. Both of them were tired, and by a silent mutual assent, they both got ready for bed. Within ten minutes, they were lying side by side in Brennan's bed. She was happily curled into his much larger frame, silently thanking whatever deity was listening that her lover had sustained no permanent damage from the day's events.

For a few moments, they simply sat there together. Brennan toyed with one of her curls. Finally Shalimar spoke.

"Did you really mean what you said to Jess?"

Brennan took a deep breath. "Yeah, sort of. I mean, I'm really pissed that he did something like that and didn't tell us. He could have compromised everything. I've already lost Sanctuary once. I'm not keen on doing it again."

"I know what you mean. But we've all done stupid things like that before."

"Exactly. It's happened to all of us before, and we should all know better."

"I know your right, it's just…"

"Adam would probably say it's the feline in you. But look. Yeah, I'm angry right now, but chances are I'll forget about it in a couple of days once I've done something stupid myself. Just give it a little time."

"Yeah?"

"Oh definitely. Everything will be a-okay." He bent his head to drop a kiss on her head then moved down to along her delicate cheekbones until he found her lips. And even as tired as he was, he couldn't help reacting. She just did that to him.

Shalimar shifted, throwing one leg over his hip. Brennan responded, running his hands down her sides to her hips. Before he could move any farther, he heard her whimper. Knowing her sounds by now, he knew it wasn't a whimper of passion, but of pain. "What's wrong?" he asked, breaking away.

"Just a little bruise," she answered quickly. "Where were we?" Her eyes flashed.

Brennan avoided her hands on his face. "What do mean a little bruise? Little bruises don't hurt you like that." Turning the bedside lamp back on, he pulled back her sleeping shorts to reveal a large bruise easily twice the size of his hand. "Shalimar…you said I didn't hurt you."

"You didn't. I've had worse." She tried to draw his attention back up to her face.

Again, Brennan avoided her. "N-uh, sweetheart. As much as I'd like to look you all over, see if there's anything else you didn't tell me about, we both know where that'll lead. So…time for bed," he announced.

Shalimar couldn't help but pout and started to protest. But finally, she acquiesced, though not for lack of trying on her part. Heck, if Brennan could actually resist her because he didn't want her to feel her bruises, he must be worth keeping. So after one more goodnight kiss, Brennan turned out the light again, and they snuggled under the covers together.

* * *

"I'm gonna take a shower in the morning. I think if I don't get of my feet, I'll fall asleep and drown myself somehow." Jesse strolled easily into Lexa's room ahead of her.

It was fairly common for the two of them to sleep in the same bed now, and they usually did so in her room. It had started that way because Jesse thought that she would be more comfortable in her own surroundings. Two months later, it had developed into a habit; Jesse spent more nights in her room than he did in his own. Her still present, ingrained paranoia meant that the room was more secure – it was soundproof as well as having its own security system independent of the rest of Sanctuary. And though in the grand scheme of things this didn't mean too much, it made them both more at ease in her room than in his.

Lexa closed the door behind her. "Are you going to tell me what that was all about?"

Jesse stripped off his t-shirt and tossed it onto the nearby chair. "What was what all about?"

"Jesse, I'm not stupid. I'll admit, it took me awhile, and I only just started seeing it, but there's definitely something wrong here. What the hell is going on between you and Adam?"

"What are you talking about? Everything's fine."

"Jesse." Her tone pushed at him.

Jesse paused in the act of unbuckling his belt. "Lexa. Read my lips if you have to. There is nothing wrong between me and Adam."

"Jesse, you practically bit his head off in there. You had to have known he was right, but you still argued with him."

"Okay, fine. Maybe I did get a little short-tempered back there. But you can hardly be surprised. Between the recent attacks and all the research I'm doing for that, I don't think I've had more than an hour's sleep in the last twenty-four."

Lexa sighed inwardly. Jesse obviously didn't want to talk about it. Normally, if she kept at it long enough, she could get him to talk about it if something was bothering him. But whatever it was between him and Adam was obviously deep rooted and she just didn't have the energy or the impetus to deal with it right now. _Fine. We'll deal with this later, once everything slows down. _"You know, despite what you think, Jess," she said, hoping for a brighter tone. "We can get along without you from time to time. You should take better care of yourself and get more sleep."

Jesse chuckled as he shucked off his pants and climbed into the bed. He leaned back against the headboard and watched appreciatively as Lexa perform her own pre-bed ritual, which was considerably longer than his own. She pulled her bejeweled tee-shirt off over her head, and he admired her lovely torso, which he knew from experience was smooth as silk. Watching her walk into the bathroom to wash her face, he struck upon something. "Hey. When exactly did this relationship do a one-eighty?"

Lexa finished washing her face. She patted her face dry then tucked the towel back on the rack. Reaching into a dresser drawer, she pulled out one of Jesse's t-shirts and finished dressing for bed. "What are you talking about?"

He folded his hands in his lap. "Well think about it. Not even six months ago, I was the one encouraging _you_ to talk. I was the one talking to _you_ about snipping at Brennan and Shal. Telling you to take care of _your_self and relax."

She shrugged as she turned out the light and slipped into bed beside him. Jesse lay on his left side and tucked her against him so her back was to his front. Staring straight ahead at the bright green numbers of the alarm clock, she said, "Hmm. I guess you're right. I never noticed." A moment later, she spoke again, biting her lower lip, though he couldn't see it. "I think I know why. The answer is so damn simple. I'll tell you, but if you repeat this to anyone I'll completely deny it."

She felt his breath on her neck as he gave a short laugh. "Okay. I promise. I won't tell a soul. What'd'ya got?"

"You're my family now."

Jesse stilled. Lexa felt his reaction and tensed up herself. "Jesse?"

He dropped a kiss behind her ear. "Family, huh? How do you figure?"

She relaxed. "Well, after Leo…er, well, you remember. I was bound and determined not to let anyone close ever again, right?"

Jesse started to nod, but instead stroked her waist as means to encourage her.

"Then I found out that the Dominion was basically tearing itself to pieces because no one trusted each other and they all wanted more power. There was no one I could trust there, not even my contact." She paused. "Then you let yourself get captured so you could save me from myself. Then I found out that Sanctuary was destroyed…and it all hit me pretty hard."

"Couldn't tell from looking at you."

"Yeah, well, we had a lot to do and worry about afterwards. Anyway, it hurt so bad when I thought I might loose Mutant X. I wanted to stay with you. And even with Shalimar and Brennan. I wanted to do things to help others because they needed help and because we all want a better future, not because I'd get power or money." She felt tears well up behind her closed eyelids. Taking a breath, she fought them back. "I wanted to be _here_. I had tried not caring about anything, and that didn't really work. So now, I'm trying the other way. I'm letting myself care. And I'll tell you, it scares the hell out of me."

Jesse tightened his arm around her and kissed her shoulder. "I'll be here for you, Lex. I'm not going anywhere."

She turned in his arms, smiled. She ran a hand along his cheek. "I know you're not." She kissed him lightly. "I love you."

He smiled back. "I love you, too." He returned her kiss, deepening it after a moment, running his hands along her side and under his shirt, drifting upward. Her own hands found their way along his bare chest. When they finally came up for air a few moments later, she pulled back a bit, realizing that he had moved one of his legs in between hers.

"I thought you were too tired to even stand up, Jess." He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Never too tired for this, my love," he whispered back, kissing her brow before returning to her lips. "Never."

* * *

Much like Brennan and Shalimar had been doing in another part of Sanctuary, David and Katie walked side by side down the corridor. After several minutes of silence, Katie felt the need to fill the silence and spoke. "It's pretty late. Why don't we both just stay here in the spare room? The bed's plenty big enough for both of us. Or one of us can take the couch."

To her surprise, he didn't argue. "Okay. We can share the bed. I've seen that couch and it doesn't look like the best thing to sleep on." They turned and made their way toward the spare room. "Besides, I think I can stand this place for awhile longer."

Katie tilted her head. "What do you mean, 'awhile longer'? Are you going somewhere?"

David looked over at her startled face and almost started laughing. When she became more distressed upon seeing his reaction, he put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. "No, no, that's not what I meant." He ushered her into the room and pulled back the already made covers. "I'm just talking about staying here, at Sanctuary. I'd much rather stay at the mansion, but both of us are probably too tired to make it up there without falling asleep in the middle of the woods."

"What's wrong with Sanctuary?" Katie asked, entering the bathroom to rinse her mouth and wash her face.

David stripped down to his boxers and a tee-shirt and lay down on one side of the king size bed. "Nothing's wrong. This place is wonderful. I've got access to anything and I'm still free to do what I want to do."

"So why did you say what you did?" she asked, her patience chipping a little, feeling as if she was trying to drive nails through granite.

David looked up at Katie, and finally gave in. "I was trying to be flippant, but it didn't really work. It's just the air in here it's kind of stale. I know you can't tell because of the pumps, but to someone who's been in one of those Genomex pods, it's pretty easy to detect. Come to think of it, I wonder how Jesse deals with it. He was locked in one of those things for a lot longer than I was."

Katie tucked herself into the other side of the bed. "I don't know. Maybe he doesn't notice?"

"No, he knows. We talked about it earlier. He didn't quite understand what exactly it was, though. I think he's chalked it up to claustrophobia and brushed it aside."

Katie didn't say anything for awhile, and David started feeling nervous. He didn't want to end the night on such a depressing note. "Hey, speaking of Jesse, what was he like when he was younger?"

Katie turned over onto her right side so that she was facing him. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I've only really known him for about six months. Sure, we talked to each other and told each other stories, but he didn't tell many about his family. Tell me some embarrassing stories that only a little sister knows."

She chuckled, the sound reminding him of Jesse somehow. "Well, there one time when Mother was hosting a dinner party…"

Twenty minutes and four stories later, David was sound asleep. Katie looked over at him for a moment, wondering how she could feel so close to him after such a short time. Running one hand through his dark, haphazard hair, she almost laughed at herself. In her family, a 'short time was relative.' Having anyone around for more than two months felt like forever. She sighed, dropped a light kiss on his temple, and then settled back on her own side to sleep.


	29. Normal

I'm back! I know it's been awhile, but life has interrupted. And, I haven't been neglecting my MX fiction! These little plot bunnies for the sequel to this sequel hopped into my head and scared off the ones for this story. So...the good news: I've got an entire outline for my next story. The bad news: I haven't been working on this one. But I'm hoping to get more done soon!

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**_Chapter 28: _****_Normal_**

The next day, forty five minutes before noon, Brennan ambled into the common room. It seemed that, despite the fact that all of Sanctuary was underground, and thus no windows to give away the sun's position, his internal body clock just couldn't let him sleep away the day. His intent was the med lab – he wanted to relieve Adam of Jessica babysitting duty so the older man could get some sleep. His stomach had a slightly different idea, though. So he ended up in the kitchen, looking for some leftover takeout or a sandwich that would take the edge off his hunger.

It was as he was wandering into the kitchen, one hand scratching his abdomen, that he found Jesse, who was sitting at the table, flipping through something on his PDA. Not letting his surprise show, Brennan paused for only for a half second before continuing on to the fridge.

"What's up, man?" Brennan asked, rifling through the contents of the fridge, finally withdrawing a carton of chow mien from two days ago and pulling a set of chopsticks from a nearby drawer. "Given what happened yesterday, I would have thought you'd try to sleep in until 2:00 at least. How long you been up?"

There was a moment of silence as Jesse continued to stare at the wall and sip the – no doubt amazingly strong – coffee in his hand. Finally, "Not long, maybe half an hour. Guess I'm just too uneasy about everything to sleep." There was a pause. "Brennan, I want to apologize. You were right about me working with Dr. Robinson. It was a stupid thing to do. I was being selfish. There's no telling what kind of damage I could have done."

Now it was Brennan who was silent for a moment. "I'm not going to disagree with you, man. But apology accepted. I mean, we've all done some stupid things. Hey, remember when Emma brought a friend of hers to Sanctuary who was a GSAgent? An honest to God GSAgent."

Jesse gave a half-hearted laugh of remembrance, but didn't say anything. Brennan interpreted it as a good time to change the subject. Taking another bite of food, he asked, "Does Adam know you're up? He was kind of fussin' over you last night."

Brennan realized that this subject was just as bad as the previous one when, this time, Jesse scoffed. "I'm sure he was. He's been doing that a lot lately, to all of us. Fussing over little things that we're perfectly able to take care of ourselves."

Brennan blinked. "Yeah, I've noticed that. So he's changed a bit in the last year. He'll settle down once he gets used to everything again." Inhaling the last of the chow mien, he added, "How come it bothers you so much?"

"I don't know." Jesse took another sip of coffee. "Maybe he's not the only one who's changed," he added softly.

Brennan started to frown, but didn't have time to linger on the enigmatic statement because Shalimar chose that moment to bound into the kitchen.

"Hey, boys. How's it going? Did the computer come up with anything? 'Cause I'm ready to go out there and kick some ass."

* * *

"Okay, based on the parameters that Jesse and Lexa came up with last night, our best bet is Richardson's Park in Jersey City." A map appeared in the air in front of Adam. "The park meets all the criteria; it's relatively small, has a jungle gym and is a 20 minute, 2 bus ride from the corner of Cherry St and Willow Ave in the greater New York City area, and the area is primarily residential. That's the good news. The bad news is that it's primarily residential, and we have a two block radius in which to search."

Lexa crossed her arms and shifted her weight to the other hip. "Well, without anything more to go on, it looks like we're going to have to do it the old fashioned way. Just go in and have a look around."

Adam nodded. "That's what I was thinking. Earlier this morning I took a look at the satellite photos of the area. The topiary is simply too dense to get any idea of house color or the layout. Now Shalimar, I want you, Lexa and Brennan to go there in the Helix. Jesse, while they're airborne, I'd like you to do an information search on the area. Check out the names on leases, that kind of thing, see if you can get any help from that vantage."

Jesse, who until now had been staring at the holographic map, frowned. "Are you sure you want me back here Adam?"

The older man sighed. "Jesse, I need you here to do the search while I get some rest. And I need you to stay here in case anything happens with Jessica."

"But Katie is already helping on both counts. But if you need me to do that search, I can just as easily do it from the computers onboard the Helix. Besides, if I go with them, we can split up into teams of two. Everyone has back up and we can search the area twice as fast."

Adam's head tilted. "Fine. But I want the four of you in the air in 15 minutes. The sooner we take out who's behind this, the sooner we can relax. Let Katie know when you land, so she can help you guys if you need it."

Adam tapped a key on the panel. The holographic map blipped out. Eleven minutes later, the Helix was airborne, already in stealth mode to protect itself and its occupants from ever present satellites above and curious onlookers below.

* * *

The ride to Jersey City was fairly quiet, save for the sound of Jesse pounding away at the onboard computer and Shalimar tapping her feet. Lexa spun back and forth in her chair while Brennan piloted with his usual efficiency.

"Any luck, Jess?" Shalimar asked.

Jesse pushed away the keyboard. "Nope. I pulled up the names on the leases and rental agreements for all the houses within a three block radius of the park and cross referenced them with known Dominion agents as well as the local criminal databases. Nothing. But then again, I didn't expect to find anything." Then, in a voice so low Shalimar was sure she was the only one who could hear it, "I'm sure Adam didn't expect me to find anything either."

Shalimar frowned. If Adam didn't expect Jesse to find anything, why would he want him to stay at Sanctuary? The tension between Adam and Jesse that she had already noticed was definitely escalating. She was going to have to sit the two of them down sometime soon before the tension started driving her – and everyone else – crazy.

She had no more time to ponder the situation, as Brennan announced that they had arrived. She turned her mind to the mission at hand.

Brennan brought up the rear as they exited onto the roof of the nearby parking garage on which Brennan had landed. "I say we go with Jesse's idea," he said as they made their way down to ground level. "Split up. Shal, why don't you and I take the north side? Jesse, you and Lex can take the south side, and we'll meet up on the other side of the park in an hour or so."

Lexa glanced at Jesse for a moment. "Sounds good. We'll call you if we find anything." She and Jesse turned right, stepped of the curb to cross the street, and were soon out of sight.

* * *

"It seems like such an idyllic little neighborhood. Your nice, average mom-dad-two kids-two car garage kind of neighborhood. So…so normal."

"Yeah, it does. But just think of all the dirty laundry that goes on behind all those doors. For all we know the guy that lives in that house" he pointed to the house across the street "is a mass murdering pedophile, and the guy in the house next door has two kids but beats them and sleeps around on his wife."

"That's a pretty cynical view there, Brennan."

"It's a pretty cynical world we live in."

"I know, but don't you ever just imagine yourself in one of these pretty little houses with a family, gathered around the tree at Christmas with everyone talking about crazy Uncle Bob or something?"

"No."

She reached out lightly punch his arm. "Oh, come on. I'm sure you have once or twice."

Brennan rubbed his arm, feigning injury and laughing a bit at her indignation. "Jeez…why are the women I live with so violent?"

She arched an eyebrow.

"Okay, fine. Sure, once or twice I have wished I could be in one of those picture perfect homes you see on TV where the worst thing you have to deal with is getting bad grade on a report card. But it's not realistic, Shalimar. I mean, all these houses look perfectly normal, but…well, living the life we live….we shouldn't trust what we see at first. There's always something – or someone – behind everything."

"I see your point. I guess I shouldn't bother asking you any metaphysical questions like if you think there's a reason for everything. But it's still nice to dream, though."

Brennan said nothing. Then, "you see any green houses around here? All I'm seeing are gray, white and brown."

Shalimar turned her attention back on the task at hand. She focused her concentration on her sight, letting her far-point vision focus and scan the area. "No… wait. There's one about 3 blocks from here."

"Great. Let's go check it out and see if this whole trip has been nothing but a wild goose chase."

* * *

The south side of the park was no more eventful than the north. Except, it didn't take them nearly as long to find a green house. One block, two left turns and three aborted conversations later, they found a small, single story forest green house.

Lexa stopped one house away and folded her arms across her chest. "So. Would you like to knock on the door, or shall I?"

Jesse said nothing. He simply stared at the house with his brow furrowed.

"Jess?" Lexa waved one hand in front of his face. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah…" Jesse let her take his arm and lead him toward the house. Something seemed off, though, and he couldn't quite place it. Everything about the house looked normal. Right down to the tire swing hanging from the sturdy limb of a giant oak tree and small two-wheeler bicycle lying on its side. They passed through the picket fence surrounding the house, but Jesse barely noticed. He was trying to figure out what was wrong. Looking down the street, he could see half a dozen children playing in a small park. Hmm, he thought. That must be Richardson's Park. Two boys were climbing on a metal jungle gym. On the inside, a little girl hung upside down from her knees, her hair swaying as she moved…

A little girl…

Hanging upside down inside a jungle gym…

"Lexa, no! Look out!"


	30. Should've Known Better

**_Chapter 29: Should've Known Better_**

Lexa barely had time to process the fact that Jesse had shouted before he was standing in front of her, massed, and blocking a hail of good old-fashioned bullets.

"What the hell? How'd they know we were coming?"

Jesse didn't answer, just dragged her behind the wide trunk of the oak tree. "Stupid, stupid."

Lexa shook off Jesse's mutterings. Daring to peer out from behind the tree, she quickly pulled herself back as another round of bullets flew, sending a shower of wood chips flying.

"I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. It was right in front of my face."

She sent a quick questioning glance his way before turning her attention back to their attackers. "What the hell are you talking about?" She fired a bolt over her shoulder, aiming for the source of the bullets. She heard a grunt and for a second thought that she had managed to take down the threat, but a half second later, another hail of bullets rained down on them from a different direction. Grabbing the sleeve of his suede coat, she pulled Jesse around to the more protected side of the tree, despite the fact that he had already massed and was thus bulletproof.

"Shalimar, Brennan!"

"Jesse. What's wrong?"

Jesse blocked his eyes from the bright light of Lexa firing another laser bolt. "Somehow, I think we found the place we're looking for. Katie, are you there?"

"Yeah. What do you need?"

"Feed our location to Shal and Brennan. Then do a thermal satellite scan of the house at our location and see how many people we're dealing with."

"I'm on it." The clicking of the keyboard could already be heard as Katie signed off.

There was another sound transmitting over the comrings; soft thumps as Brennan and Shalimar's feet pounded the pavement.

"You guys might want to pick up the pace," Lexa said into her own comring. "There are at least three of them. They're armed with assault rifles, and," she paused to fire another couple rounds of white hot light, "they're wearing power suits."

Brennan swore over the comring. "We'll be there as soon as we can. Hang on, guys."

Lexa scoffed. "That phrase is always more comforting when you're on the other side of it. Come on. Grab hold. I can keep us out of the visible spectrum long enough to get us to the house and away from the guns."

"Lexa, I don't think –"

Jesse didn't have time to finish his sentence before Lexa had once again grabbed a hold of his jacket. This time, he felt the cool flow of molecules surround his body, and he knew that Lexa had used her powers to deflect the light away from them, making them invisible to the naked eye. Reluctantly, he followed her.

Less than two seconds later, he knew why this wasn't such a good idea. He managed to mass completely only a nanosecond before the bullets started flying again. There wasn't time to move Lexa behind him, so he quickly spread the mass effect to her body. He knew that being massed would be painful for her, despite the fact that she was a part molecular mix, but is was the only way he could save her life. Unfortunately, massing her body also had the effect of freezing her in place. Trying not to grunt as he forced his solidified joints to move, he lifted Lexa and swung her back around behind the tree, where he was finally able to take a breath and return them both to normal density.

"Shit. They must have thermal glasses on."

"I was going to say that going out there probably wasn't a good idea. I figured out what was bothering me when we came up to the house. Adam said that Holly may not be a scientific genius, but also that she was anything but dumb. When I was in her mind," he paused as Lexa peeked out to see if their assailants were still there, then ducked back when they fired on her, and then fired a return shot, "all Jessica talked about was that damned park. It was like she had been there."

"What's your point, Jesse?"

"Jessica's mental state basically means she's just like a little kid – a fucking dangerous kid – but a kid nonetheless. And what do you do with kids when you're perpetrating evil?"

"Perpetrating evil? You've been hanging around Adam too long. You're starting to sound like him."

Jesse glowered. "You send the kids away," he said pointedly. "Kids tend to talk when they know things, even if you tell them not to. The point is, Holly's prepared. She knew something like that might happen, so she prepared for it by sending Jessica to the park."

"And you're saying that's why these guys are wearing thermal glasses and power suits?"

"Exactly. She knows Mutant X – she was part of the Dominion – she knows what our powers are. Especially you. The thermal glasses neutralize your power of invisibility. The power suits make your and Brennan's powers virtually ineffective, especially in fast, close combat. While we're at it, we'd better tell Brennan to watch out for sprinklers and hoses on his way in."

"Well, damn. We're going to have to wait until Shalimar and Brennan get here before we make a move."

"At least. Hey, Katie? Have you got that satellite thermal scan done yet?"

"Not yet," she said through the comlink to her brother. "Seems that today's the day the Department of Defense decided to run a security scan of their satellite systems. I'm having trouble getting through the temporary firewalls they've established. It should only be a few more minutes though."

"Just great," Jesse mumbled.

Lexa shot him a look. "Relax," she told him. Then, to Katie, she said, "Katie, do us a favor and trigger a mechanical failure alarm at the nearest sanitation center." She could almost see the young woman pause at the computer keyboard back in Sanctuary. "Just do it," she added.

There was a slight pause before Katie responded. "Right." And from the tone in her voice, Lexa knew that Katie understood the reasoning.

Jesse still didn't, however. "What the hell was that all about?"

Lexa barely flinched when another round of fire chipped away at the tree they were hiding behind, then rapped her knuckles lightly against the side of Jesse's head. "Think about it. If there's an emergency at the sewage treatment plant, perhaps 'indications' of a possible leak of untreated sewage into the local creeks and rivers, what do they do?"

"Shut down the water flow in the area so that they don't get…ahh. Very nice. You do beautiful work," he said appreciatively, giving her a high five.

"Why thank you."

* * *

Less than two minutes after Jesse called them, Shalimar and Brennan reached the location. 

"What the hell?" Shalimar wondered aloud as they slowed down for the last few yards. "You'd think with this gunfire we'd be hearing sirens by now.

"Hey, look at the neighborhood. Everyone's probably at work and school. Do you see anyone?"

Shalimar's eyes flashed. There are two people there," she pointed "on each side of the house. But I can smell about 6 or 7 people. I can't tell how many are there now."

"Is it a bad idea to jump the fence?" Brennan nodded toward the surprisingly low tech wooden fence, slated, standing about seven feet tall.

She shook her head. "There's no one on the other side." She took two long steps forward and leaped over the fence in a single fluid movement.

Brennan shook his head. Every time he saw her do things like that he couldn't help but think how cool it was. Reaching up, he grasped the top of the fence and vaulted himself up and over.

And promptly fell back when the fence shocked him.

"Damn!" He swore.

Shalimar's low voice came to him from between the slats of wood. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he grumbled, brushing off her concern. "But this damn fence has enough electricity running through it to drop an elephant. It's a good thing you didn't touch it when you went over."

"Are you going to be able to get over?"

"Yeah, yeah." With a quick hand, he touched the fence again, this time trying to get a gauge of exactly how much power was running through it. If he could match the current, it would run through him like a neutral point – just like a bird sitting on a telephone wire. Taking a breath, he focused himself, formed the tesla coils, and leapt over. And landed safely without a scratch.

Shalimar teasingly punched his shoulder as he stood up from his crouch. "Took you long enough."

He ignored her. Staying low, they moved together along the inside edge of the property, trying to stay out of sight. As they got closer to the house, Shalimar pointed out two guards; both looked tense, but were maintaining their stations. Shalimar pointed to Brennan and then to the lone guard on the ground floor, who was anxiously looking around. Then she pointed to herself and to the guard creeping across the roof on his knees, who, as they watched, paused to send a burst of fire at ground target on the other side of the house. She gave a signal and they split apart, each heading for their intended objectives.

Given Lexa's warning that they guards may be wearing power suits, Brennan held back the all too easy to use lightening. Moving as stealthily as he could with a 6 foot 3 inch frame, Brennan wove his way around the guard's line of sight. When he was finally close enough, he lashed out with one foot, aiming to drop the guard with a single blow.

Providence didn't seem to be favoring him at the moment, however. The nameless, faceless guard managed to sense the approaching blow with a second to spare, giving him enough time to move away, reducing Brennan's attack to a glancing blow. Swiveling, the guard raised his weapon. Brennan wrenched it away with a hard swipe of his hands. The man swung his arms back, aiming for Brennan's head. Brennan blocked, and the man took the opportunity to kick out, striking Brennan hard in the solar plexus. Only slightly winded, mad because this hadn't gone as quickly as he planned and knowing he had to keep it quiet, Brennan stepped it up a notch. He grabbed the man's exposed neck, and pulled down, also bringing his knee up into the man's stomach. Simultaneously, he applied a charge to the back of his neck. The man dropped like the proverbial stone, unconscious. Grabbing the arms, Brennan quickly dragged the body behind and under one of the hedges in the side yard that gave the building the illusion of normalcy. Wiping his hands on his pants, he spared a glance to the roof to see how Shalimar was faring.

Shalimar crept along the roof, her movements timed to those of the man on the roof. She had gained access to the perch by leaping from the ground to a tree in the yard and then onto the roof. When she was finally close enough, she pounced on him, unable to contain the instinctive growl that came with the thrill of the hunt. From behind, she latched on to his neck, cutting off the man's air supply. He struggled, dropping his gun, which clattered half way down the roof before sliding to a stop. His hands flew up, reaching for her arm, trying to get a strong enough grip to tear her away. Shalimar's arm remained tight, and he was unable to find purchase. His thermal scanning glasses were wrenched off. Desperate, the man twisted in her grip. He outweighed her by a good 70 pounds, and the extra weight, combined with the uneven and a lack of traction with the roof disrupted her superior balance enough that she was forced to let go. He took advantage, swinging away and gasping for breath in the half second she had to let go. Having regained her balance, and with a new challenge, she felt her feral instincts rise at the idea of a decent fight. But a glance down at Brennan, standing below with arms crossed, told her she needed to tamp down on those instincts and end the confrontation quickly. She lashed out with a solid right hook, catching the man in the temple before he even had a chance to catch his breath. His body thumped as it fell, sliding down the slanted roof until the friction between his jacket and the shingles brought him to a stop right beside his fallen firearm.

Shalimar leapt down from the roof, landing nimbly beside Brennan. "Took you long enough," he said, mimicking her words from earlier.

She rolled her eyes in response, but froze when she heard a sound.

He noticed her expression. "What is it?"

"Ticking."

"As in boom boom bomb ticking?"

She shook her head. "No, it sounds more like… those automatic sprinklers?"

Brennan's eyes widened a bit. "Water. Shit." He made a move closer toward the house, away from the back lawn.

She stopped him with a hand on his arm, and pointed to a nearby sprinkler head. "Someone already took care of that for us. Look." As she spoke, the sprinkler head sputtered, but did not release a spray of water.

Brennan's relief was obvious. "At least something's going our way. Come on."

Together they turned, slithering over to the sliding glass door that lead from the yard to the house. Brennan cautiously peeked though. From his vantage, the house was absolutely empty. He opened the door, slipping through and indicating for Shal to follow him. Glancing one way, he saw that the coast was clear. Glancing the other way….

"Aw fuck."

* * *

**AN:** Getting close to the end. Amber Cloud: I should really get you a good sized lengh for rope for those cliffhangers. But hey, if you think this story needs rope, just wait until my next one! ;-)  



	31. Shifting the Element

**_Chapter 30: Shifting the Element_**

Brennan couldn't help the involuntary curse. He should have known it had been too easy thus far. "I don't suppose you guys'll just put down the guns and surrender," he asked the four men now standing alert in the living room of the house.

The automatic weapons clicked into readiness.

Shalimar glanced over to Brennan. _I guess not_, she thought, diving behind the couch as all four men fired at them. The flimsy couch was more effective at stopping the men from shooting at what they couldn't see than actually stopping bullets. She didn't have much time. It wouldn't take long for them notice that she hadn't gone anywhere else and would simply shoot through the furniture. Frantically, she looked over to Brennan, who had been able to take refuge in a narrow hallway branching off the room.

He caught her look and took action. He thrust his arm out, sending a surge of electrical energy at the men. The black vests the men wore absorbed the blue tendrils; all four men remained standing. But it was enough.

The men must not have been accustomed to the vests; they still flinched, distracted long enough for Shalimar to dart from behind the couch and toward the hallway to where Brennan waited. It was a close call, and she could fell the breeze from a couple bullets whizzing past as the men recovered and started shooting again.

* * *

"It's been a while since they've taken a shot. Think they're gone?"

Jesse raised an eyebrow, silently asking, Are you serious?

"Yeah, okay." Her fingers resumed tapping against her thigh. She cracked her knuckles.

Both sounds managed to grate on Jesse's already frayed nerves. He sighed and opened his mouth to tell her to calm down when a voice interrupted.

"Jesse? Lexa?"

He abandoned his intention. "Yeah? Katie, what have you got?"

"I finally managed to get through those firewalls and got a thermal reading on that house. Besides the four of you, there are seven heat signatures. A couple of minutes ago, they were all moving around, but now two of them are stationary in the back yard."

Lexa's hands shifted to her hips. "So Brennan and Shalimar are here."

"Yeah," Katie confirmed. "As for the rest of the other guys, one is in a room on the back side of the house, and the remaining four are in the front room, and they seemed to have been drawn off by something. I managed to get a fix on Bren and Shal's com signals and David brought up the building's specs. They're in a hallway on the ground floor, and based on the patterns on the thermal scan, I'd say –"

"Jesse, Lexa! We're pinned down in here." Brennan's voice yelled over the thwap of bullets and sizzle of tesla coils.

Jesse looked at Lexa as he sprung up from his kneeling position. "We're already on our way."

* * *

For the third time, Brennan sent electricity flying toward the men. It didn't seem to matter if he aimed for the chest or the legs or the head. The suit managed to absorb the extra energy from any part of the wearer's body. Frustrated, he retreated back behind the wall. "Damn," he told Shalimar. "They must have made some improvements to those things. It doesn't matter where I hit them. Is there a way out this way?" He indicated the other end of the hall with a nod of his head.

Shalimar shook her head. "No. I checked. There's only a laundry room with no windows and a half bath with a tiny window. I'd be able to get through it, but I don't think you'd be able to."

"Well then get the hell out of here."

"Brennan…"

"Oh, don't go thinking I'm going all noble…"

"Don't worry, I wasn't," she said promptly.

He tilted his head and couldn't stop a modicum of hurt from entering his features.

Shalimar rolled her eyes. "I just wanted to make sure that you were sure. I'll see if I can get around and come at them from behind."

Brennan smiled. "I'll keep them distracted," he said as she turned toward the bathroom door. "Be careful, okay."

She turned back for a half second as she went through the bathroom door. "Always," she said with a smile.

He laughed and turned back to the task at hand. This time, he sent electricity at the nearby television. The appliance promptly short circuited and blew into pieces.

* * *

Jesse and Lexa crept along the side of the house, careful to stay below window level. Massing in case a bullet came flying his way, Jesse rose up and glanced through the front window. Coming back down, he turned to Lexa. "All four of them are in the front room. Brennan's doing what he can, but his power's not having much of an effect against them. If we go in through the front door, we'll come up on their back left side. They're focused on Brennan right now…"

"…so let's move while the surprise is back on our side," she finished, already moving toward the door.

Jesse agreed, and together they moved to and through the front door, Jesse making sure to put Lexa behind him. With the caution and efficiency of experienced fighters, they moved around the furniture slowly, trying to avoid the gunmen's peripheral vision. At almost the same time, they noticed that the four men, who all wore black but differed in slightly in height and build, had finally stopped flinching at Brennan's attacks and had started to advance on his position. Before Lexa could do anything, Jesse was moving, leaping over the coffee table, on his way to intercepting the four gun-wielding thugs.

Lexa cursed silently and automatically took up a support position, and what happened next happened almost too fast for her to comprehend.

Jesse slid in between the four men and Brennan, automatically massing. The men reacted, all four of them unloading their weapons on Jesse. It only took a few seconds for the magazines to empty, and that was all the time it took for Lexa to jump at them from behind. She attacked the nearest one, knocking him down. His weapon clattered to the floor and Lexa seized the opportunity to kick it to the other side of the room with her left foot. While the other three struggled to reload, Jesse unmassed and swept out with a high roundhouse kick, hitting them on the hands and knocking the guns from two more sets of hands. Knowing they had no chance or time to retrieve and reload their weapons, the two men charged Jesse, who stopped one hit by throwing up an arm and reduced the other to a glancing blow by twisting away. The fourth man, who had been just out of reach from Jesse's sweeping kick, managed to retrieve another magazine from his belt. Glancing down, he slid it home with a click audible over the grunts and thuds of the engaging combatants. Lexa, leaping back to avoid a high kick, wondered how the hell the guy expected to fire accurately now that they were in such close, scrambled quarters. She didn't have to worry long though, because just as the young Asian raised the gun to fire, a booted foot arced in and knocked it away. Blond hair swirled as a figure vaulted over his head and a fist shot out, connecting solidly with the side of his head.

No longer the decoy, and with the threat of firearms gone, Brennan quickly rushed out from the hall. Reaching out he grabbed the shoulders of one of the men who was attacking Jesse. Spinning the lean, wiry black man around, Brennan dealt him a powerful uppercut. To the thug's credit, he shrugged it off and retaliated with a swing of his own. Brennan blocked, and threw another punch. The man lashed out, hooking the back of Brennan's foot. Feeling his balance go, Brennan used his other foot to add momentum to the tumble and he managed to flip instead of fall. The act put distance between the two combatants, but the other man was already closing.

Now that he only had one opponent, Jesse was less hurried. It may have been a while since he was really out in the field, but the instincts were coming back in a hurry, he realized, as he exchanged a series of blows with the other man. The man danced back to avoid one of Jesse's punches, but came back charging. Taking a quick breath, Jesse phased, and the man, his fist leading the charge, passed right through him, momentum taking him down toward the ground. Before he even hit, Jesse had returned to normal density and swung down and around, delivering a sharp uppercut to the falling man. He landed face first on the hardwood floor, unconscious.

Jesse straightened and looked over the man, making sure he was truly unconscious. Seeing that he was, Jesse let one hand trail to and rub his shoulder, where one of the men had landed a blow. Looking left, he saw Shalimar kick out and flip spin backward, landing on the back of her now fallen opponent. Ouch, he thought, remembering the high heeled boots Shal was wearing that day. On his right, Lexa was kicked a man square in the face as he scrambled up from his knees. The man lolled over onto his back and lay still, blood dripping from his nose. The two women, finished with their fights came over to Jesse and together, the three of them stood there, watching Brennan engage the last goon.

Brennan was exchanging punches with the man, none of them landing. Finally, Brennan found enough of an opportunity. The other man followed one punch with another too quickly, leaving his midsection unprotected. While blocking one arm, Brennan ducked under the other flying fist and sent a powerful punch to the solar plexus. The man doubled over, giving Brennan the chance to level a two fisted punch at his head, knocking him out and to the ground. Brennan relaxed, letting his breath even, pulling his coat back into place. Turning his head, he saw that Shalimar, Jesse and Lexa were standing, hands on hips or crossed over their chests.

Brennan's mouth quirked. "Yeah, I know. Took me long enough, right?"


	32. Barbs

**_Chapter 31: Barbs_**

****

Lexa and Shalimar now tread carefully through the house. Shalimar frowned. As they secured the four fallen men and searched the rest of the building, her sixth sense seemed to be trying to tell her something. There was something off. Katie said that there was one person left in the house, and Shalimar was trying to use her heightened and extra senses to get a feel for exactly who they were dealing with. But nothing doing. She couldn't sense the other person at all. It may have been the thick cloud of gun smoke still hanging in the air playing havoc with her senses… but she didn't think so. Something was off and Shalimar felt her whole body reacting to the potential danger. As they made their way through the rest of the house, her unease only intensified, reaching the point where Lexa noticed. But she said nothing, needing to focus on the task at hand.

Brennan was the first to reach a door at the end of the back hallway, Jesse not far behind. He looked over his shoulder at Lexa and Shalimar, who had just finished searching the last corner of the house. Shalimar nodded. This was the only place the last person could be, despite the fact that she couldn't detect anything.

He gripped the door handle, attempting to give it a slow twist. It was locked. _Fine, the hard way_, he thought. Taking a couple steps back, he charged forward, ramming his shoulder into the door. The latch cracked open, and the door swung inward, only to stop two inches in, coming to a sudden, wood splintering halt. Brennan found himself standing between Jesse and Shalimar, having been bounced off the door.

"What the hell was that?" he asked, rubbing his shoulder.

Lexa stepped forward. Sticking her hand through the small opening created by the now cracked door, she felt around and encountered a familiar tingle.

"Well damn," she whispered pulling her hand back. Turning back to the others, she then said, "What we have here is a good old fashioned mutant power proof force field."

Jesse raised an eyebrow. "To keep something in? Or to keep us out?"

"Let's find out." Shalimar stepped around Lexa and grasped the door handle. Giving it a succinct yank, she managed to pull the already damaged door right off its hinges. A flick of the wrist, and she tossed the future kindling into the hall behind them.

Brennan slung and arm around her shoulders. "Nice call," he said appreciatively, as they all stepped up to the doorway. Inside, they saw a slight woman, brown hair caught up in a simple ponytail, hunched over a keyboard.

"Fuck!" she shouted. Reaching into the pocket of her slacks, she withdrew a slim cell phone, and with one hand, based on the sound, activated the walkie-talkie feature. "John! John, get in here, I need you!"

Brennan tapped against the force field, sending a colorful shimmer through its borders. "If John is one of the guys out here, he's taking a little nap."

The woman turned to look at them for the first time. Her icy glare sent a chill down Shalimar's back. Her instincts virtually shouted, 'this woman was dangerous.' Had it been possible, Shalimar would have raised her senses even more.

Lexa crossed her arms and said in an equally icy tone, "Well, if it isn't little Miss Holly herself. Who let you out of your cage?"

Holly fumed. Her eyes narrowed. "If it isn't Lexa "the Bitch" Pierce. Thought you'd be dead by now, going all soft like you did. What? Did you get tired of screwing all the guys in the Dominion and decide to branch out a little?"

Lexa took a step forward, livid at the accusation. Jesse put an arm out to stop her. "Hey. Let it go. You can't get through the field right now anyway."

Holly smirked.

Shalimar put a hand on Lexa's other shoulder. "I'd save some of that energy, though, Lex. Look at her. The way she acted when we bust open the door? She's scared about something. Something's going wrong, and she knows it. If this field was down, I'd be able to smell it." Shalimar's features and tone smirked; inside she was still on the lookout for the other shoe.

"It is a handy tool, isn't it?" Holly said, indicating the shield which protected her. "Stole the design from right under Adam's nose. Would have gotten more, but your security system managed to find my worm before it could do its work. I have to give you guys credit there. You've made some changes since you turned on the Dominion."

Jesse scoffed in disbelief. "Turned on the Dominion? Now I know where your daughter gets her insanity, if you think the Dominion is the good guy in all of this. You… wait; it was you that crashed our systems last week."

Holly did a mock curtsey.

The irritation on Jesse's face was obvious. "Because of you, I had to reconfigure every _nanobyte_ of the security system." He paused for a moment, and the corner of his mouth quirked up. "No, wait. Actually, I should actually thank you. Because of that, I had the chance to revamp the entire system, add new protocols from scratch. Now our system is better than before. So, yes. Thank _you_."

Holly's eyes narrowed. "You think you're all so smart. You should just…"

Just then, a sizzle lit the air, and for a half second, Jesse thought that Brennan had formed a tesla coil right next to his head. But then he noticed that the power field surrounding the room was flickering, sending random electrons and bright colors spinning through the room. Two seconds later, there was a dull flash, and then everything was quiet again.

Like the other four in the room, Jesse immediately recognized what happened. He smiled, taking a few steps forward, past the spot where the barrier had shorted out just seconds ago. "Apparently we are that smart. See, if you had taken the time, you would have figured out that any file downloaded from Sanctuary without the proper passwords gets corrupted in the transfer. A little feature that Adam and I added a couple months back." By now, Jesse was only a few yards from Holly. Behind him, the other three had come closer too. Jesse took another step...

And instantly froze. Because one second he was advancing, having the advantage, the next he was frozen in place with a gun pointed in his direction. Upon recognizing that it was a simple 9 mm, he relaxed. A little.

"You know that I'm an impervious molecular. Bullets don't do much good against me."

One corner of Holly's mouth lifted. "Oh, I know you are. But he isn't." Her arm swung right, now directing the gun at Brennan, who had been moving slowly to the side.

Predictably, Jesse reacted, his features and body stiffening.

"I also know that none of you, least of all you, Mr. Kilmartin, have super speed. And there's no way you can get in front of him in the instant it takes a bullet to travel this short of a range. Hell, it's almost point blank. The point is, you try anything, and Mr. Mulwray here gets a bullet in him. And Mr. Mulwray, one spark, and we'll have the same result. Ms. Slut, the same goes for you."

Shalimar growled. "What the hell do you want?"

"Down kitty. You'll be happy to know you were right. Things have gone wrong. But that doesn't mean I'm going to roll over and let you win. I'll just have to move on to plan B. Now, if you two will kindly move over here. Not you, Mulwray. You stay right where you are."

Gently, Shalimar and Lexa moved to stand beside Jesse. Both held their hands out in the universal symbol of submission. At the same time, Holly stepped sideways and back, making sure to keep the gun trained on Brennan. "What exactly is it that you hope to accomplish?" Lexa asked.

Holly looked at Lexa for a moment. "Now Lexa," she said, exasperated. "You don't really expect me answer that, do you? I may not be a genius, but I'm far from stupid. For all I know you're broadcasting this conversation back to Adam. So, no, I'm not going to tell you." By now, Holly was standing in the doorway through which they had entered minutes earlier. "You're all just going to have to die without knowing. Sorry." As she spoke, she slipped her cell phone back into her pocket and withdrew another slim object.

Brennan shifted his weight unhappily. "Great. A remote control. Why do the bad guys always have a remote control? Nothing good ever happens when they have a remote control."

"You really aren't as dumb as you look," Holly said with a smile. She pushed a short sequence of keys, pocketed the device and walked away.

The moment the gun was no longer pointed in their direction, Brennan put down his hands from where he had been holding them out, and set off after her. But before he got halfway to the door, a colorful shimmer pulsed around the room. Brennan immediately stopped short.

"Damn it!" He threw a hand up. "She got the field up. How the hell'd she fix it so fast?"

"I don't know. I thought the program was supposed to shut down if someone outside sanctuary tried to use it." Lexa shot a glance over to Jesse.

"Hey, don't look at me! I _know_ that the corruption program works, I –"

"Shh!" Shalimar's harsh tone immediately silenced the potential bickering.

Brennan watched Shalimar's eyes flash. "Shal? What is it?"

She held out a hand, telling them to be silent. A moment later, she spoke, her voice low. "That's not all she did. We've got another problem. Tick-tick," she said tellingly.

Brennan's eyes relayed his reaction. "I don't suppose that's more water sprinklers?" he asked half sarcastically.

"Sorry Brennan. This tick-tick is the tick-tick-boom variety. When she left, our friend Holly activated a bomb."


	33. Choices

**AN:** Soooo sorry this is sooooo late. I completely did not intend to leave you guys hanging like that. Work just happened, and then my muse ran away...I think I've corraled her, so there shouldn't be nearly as long before the next update. Thanks to those of you who are hanging in there.

Feedback is always appreciated. ;-)

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**_Chapter 32: Choices_**

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"Is there any way we can disarm it?" Lexa paced behind Jesse and Brennan, who had located the device and were now examining it.

Both men ignored her. "What about here?" Brennan asked Jesse. "Looks like it might be the trip wire."

Jesse let out a heavy breath. "I would say yes, but so is this one. And this one here... Whoever designed this circuit, it wasn't Holly. This is pure genius. Look at this. It's rigged to go off if any one of these wires is interrupted; there are at least two dozen. Multi-trip, circular circuit, simultaneously linked."

Shalimar bent down over Jesse's shoulder, watching as the digital display cycled downward from five minutes. 4:55, 4:54, 4:53... "Is there any way you can cut them simultaneously. You've done that before, haven't you?"

He looked over his shoulder at her. "Yeah, but this is different. In that case, all the lines were in the same area, relatively compact. Here, they're spread out over a wide area, about eight cubic feet. There's no way I'd be able to reach all the wires _and_ be as delicate as I need to be."

"What if Brennan or I acted as a second pair of hands?"

"Wouldn't work. By definition, because we're separate people, it's impossible to disable the wires at exactly the same nanosecond, which is what needs to happen."

On the other side of the room, Lexa turned and started pacing back toward them. "Fine, if that won't work, what about getting rid of the shield so we can get out of here."

Jesse shifted to look at her. "She did leave the computer in with us…" His voice trailed off as he shifted over to the desktop computer. A few silent moments passed as he clicked away at the keyboard. He whistled. "Damn. I really want to meet whoever she had working for her."

Lexa stepped closer to peer over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"Whoever did this is incredible. In fact, it's so intricate that I'm willing to bet that it's a telecyber psionic. The bomb is linked to the computer system. So even if we were able to cut the physical wires, an internal wireless sensor, hooked to this computer, would have ignited the C4 inside." He tapped a few dozen more keys. "And look here. This is the program she managed to hack from our system last week. And based on what I see here, it was corrupted, just like it was supposed to be. But his person managed to reverse engineer, decrypt and restructure the program. It's not as sophisticated as Adam's, which sucks for us."

"What do you mean, Jess?" Brennan asked.

"This version just uses the basic premise of Adam's program. Its strength, size and specific frequency can't be adjusted, and all it can do, basically, is go on and off."

"Great, then turn the damn thing off so we can get out of here."

"Not that easy. It goes on and off – which is what Holly did earlier. She turned it off to make it seem like it had short circuited. But this program also has the option of going permanently on, which, if used, can't be revered except by destroying the generator. Guess which setting Holly chose before she left."

Brennan swore under his breath, looking down at his feet and putting his hands on his hips. "This whole damn thing was a trap. All right, let me guess. The generator is part of the same computer that the bomb's linked to, so if we try to short the generator, we trigger the bomb."

Jesse stood up. "Bingo. Well, close enough, anyway."

Shalimar kicked out at the chair behind the computer. "What about a basement? Is there a basement you could phase us into, Jesse?"

Jesse paused a moment, his eyes brightening for a second. "David and Katie just checked the blueprints for the house, and he says there isn't. I had to use our telepathic link," he explained. "The shield interferes with the transmission distance on the comm. rings. We could talk to each other over them but that's about it."

"What about massing then? Could you mass us for the duration of the explosion?" Brennan tossed out the suggestion.

Jesse shook his head again. "Not all four of us for that length of time. There's enough C4 there to keep this place burning for awhile. And if you guys are massed, you can't move. We'd be frozen in place, and I'd have to take a breath before the fire has a chance to burn out."

Nobody said anything then. They were all thinking the same thing, and there was no reason to talk about it if it was the last thing they were going to say to each other.

Shalimar seemed determined not to give up, though, and after a moment, she stopped shuffling her feet and walked over to the border of the barrier. Looking at it as if she could see it, she asked, "What about up? Is this thing a bubble, or is it just four walls?"

Jesse frowned, twisting around to look back at the program specs, which were still showing on the monitor. His face fell. "Fifty feet," he said coming back to lay a hand on her shoulder. "The field is only on four sides, not a sphere, but it goes fifty feet up. Straight through the ceiling and into the sky; only works to stop mutants. Not even you can high enough to get over it. Besides, the ceiling's only 10 feet up."

Shalimar turned and looked at him, here eyes bright, and one eyebrow arched high. "I can't jump that high, but Brennan can."

Jesse and Lexa looked confused. Brennan looked over at Shalimar, frowning. It took a moment before he realized what she was getting at. "Yeah, I can propel myself that high, but I can't break though a ceiling with electricity, and we'd break our necks if we tried to crash through it. Plus, I don't have enough power or balance to lift all four of us."

Lexa caught on. "I can take care of that ceiling for you. I'd just need a minute"

"And the weight?"

After a half second, Jesse turned his head and looked Brennan in the eye. "I can handle that."

The others glanced over at him with skeptical looks. "Do you have that much control?" Lexa asked. "Brennan's powers won't work if he's phased."

"I can do it," he replied with determination. "I'll split the difference between phased and normal density. You just get started on that ceiling. We've only got about a minute left," he said, indicating the timer.

Lexa looked into his eyes for a moment longer. She saw only certainty and determination. With a curt nod, she turned her back to him, and angled a powerful laser straight into the ceiling.

After a few seconds of watching Lexa cut through the layers of sheetrock, lumber and a steel beam, Brennan felt a tap on his left shoulder. He looked away from Shalimar, who was helping Lexa by using her excellent vision to determine the location of the beams based on the coloring of the ceiling, to find Jesse, who pulled him to the other side of the room.

"Brennan, could you lift just Shalimar and Lexa?" Jesse asked in a whisper once they were away from the girls.

Brennan frowned. "What are you getting at, man? I though you said you could handle the weight problem."

Jesse shook his head. "I don't have anywhere near that control. I don't even think it's possible to split the difference between phasing and normal density. But just answer the question. Could you get yourself, Lexa and Shalimar up and over the barrier? Just the three of you?"

Brennan let out a breath and thought for a moment. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I can."

"You think or you can?" Jesse's voice was intense, but still soft.

"I can. I can do it." Brennan responded.

"Good. As soon Lexa gets that ceiling down, have Shal hang on to one side, Lexa on the other. I'll act like I'm on your back, but I'm going to let go."

"But Jesse –"

"You said it yourself, Brennan. You can't get balance or lift all four of us. I can stay behind and mass myself through the explosion."

"But you said that you can't move when you're massed."

"No, I said _you guys_ can't move when Imass _you_. If I'm alone, I should be able to get out after the explosion."

"Can or should?"

Jesse noticed the worried tone in Brennan's voice. "Can, all right? I can. Once the bomb goes off, it will take out the generator too, and I can just walk right out of the fire. I'll meet you guys outside. I'm telling you this so you can balance right when you take off."

"Jess, are you sure about this?"

"Brennan, it's the only way right now, and we don't have time to argue."

Brennan looked like he wanted to say something else, but he was interrupted by a shout from Lexa to stand back. A second later, a large portion of the ceiling crashed to the floor, opening the room to the bright sky outside. Knowing Jesse was right about there being no time, he let out a breath and turned away from his friend. "Let's go girls. Jesse and I have the aerodynamics worked out."

He stepped under the center of the hole, and looked up. Mentally, he cursed when he saw that a maple tree outside hung over a large part of the airspace, but automatically added the knowledge to the adjustment he'd be making. "Ten seconds, guys. Let's balance this thing. Shalimar, hang onto my shoulder. Lexa other side, Jesse, hold onto my back." Brennan directed them, catching the knowing glance Jesse sent his way. He closed his eyes for a half second, summoning all the electrical power in his body to his hands.

Once he had enough power as he could handle, he expelled the energy as forcefully as possible, lifting himself and the others suddenly and violently off the ground. He felt Jesse's hands slip off his back, and the branches of the maple tree scratch his face. Then he both heard and felt the explosion. Heat licked at his heels. He ignored it all, concentrating on getting them up and over the barrier. How high was fifty feet anyway? When was he supposed to know? Hoping he was high enough, he changed the direction of the jets emanating from his hands.


	34. The Elasticity of Time

**_AN:_** Short chapter, I know. But I wanted to get it out there as soon as possible. Thanks to all of you who have reviewed over the whole process of this story. There's only about one chapter left, then I'm going to get started on the next installment.

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**_Chapter 33: The Elasticity of Time_**

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Brennan changed the direction of the jets emanating from his hands and was relieved to find that they weren't bounced of the invisible field. He saw the neighbor's green lawn, and tried to direct their descent to the area, hoping to avoid anymore trees; he could already feel blood trickling down his face from a cut on his temple, no doubt courtesy of the maple tree. He could still feel the heat at his back and couldn't help but wonder if Jesse had been right, or if he had left his friend to die.

The ground was approaching quickly, and Brennan did his best to control the force and direction of the jets in an effort to control their descent, but before he knew it, his feet hit the ground, and found himself automatically rolling his body in an effort to absorb some of the impact. Seconds later, he had come to a complete stop and he lay still, his body in a half tuck and lying on his left side. Gingerly, he drew himself up onto his knees, taking stock and relieved to find that nothing seemed to be broken. As he drew himself to his feet, he saw the girls had done the same. Shalimar came over to his side, brushing grass off her jeans. Lexa was rising to her feet slowly, already favoring her left foot.

"Well, we're alive. That's good," Shalimar said.

Brennan heard her, but didn't respond. His gaze was already focused back on the burning building. _Come on, brother…_

"Look at that," Shalimar said. "The generator must have survived long enough to control energy from the blast somehow. It almost went straight up. The neighbors' houses should be fine as long as those trees don't spread the fire." Realization then seemed to dawn on her all at once. "Brennan…," she said softly, fearfully, as she took in his intense focus and still features. And realized that one of them wasn't here. "…where's Jesse."

Lexa's hand grasped at Shalimar's shoulder. "He stayed behind…" Her voice was strained and her eyes flickered and tensed. Shalimar put her own arm around the taller woman's waist. "There was no other way to lighten the load. We didn't feel the phase because there wasn't one. He doesn't have that kind of control over his powers. I knew that... I should have known. I should have caught it. I shouldn't have let him."

She turned and looked up at Brennan, whose gaze was still searching the inferno. "That's what you guys were talking about, wasn't it."

Brennan bit his lip and nodded. "He told me he was going to let go. He told me so my balance wouldn't be thrown off. He said he could mass through it; that _he_ can move when he's massed. Where is he? He should be out by now, right?"

Neither Shalimar nor Lexa answered. Instead, they joined his vigil, watching the flames.

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Intense moments usually pass so fast that you barely remember it happening, or so slow that you remember every thought, every fear and every instant.

For Jesse it had always been the later. Every one of his actions was deliberate and he always knew exactly what was happening and why he was reacting the way he was. This time was no different.

The world seemed to slow down, and what was surely only 10 or 15 seconds in real time felt like hours. He felt the hairs lifting on the back of his neck as Brennan's powers charged. In his mind, he could visualize the countdown on the timer; when the clock read two seconds left, Brennan let loose. Jesse closed his eyes, and let his hands slip away from Brennan's shoulders. In the same instant, he controlled his breathing, letting the air flow through his lungs in the way it needed to. Opening his eyes, he saw the blue jets of energy surging from Brennan's hands as his three friends escaped.

He massed. The familiar feeling of cold lead coursing though his veins, spreading outward from his chest, overtook him. It was almost as if he could feel each molecule hardening, tightening. It spread down his arms, across his biceps and forearms, into his hands and fingertips, down his legs, through his ankles and to the tip of his toes.

Just as the last drop of ice cold lead spread through his body, the temperature suddenly skyrocketed. Scalding hot waves of air pummeled him from all sides and with his eyes open, he could see the flames combusting the air around him. At first they were white hot, testament to the properties of the C4, but then they quickly faded to blue, a moment of green, and finally settled to the familiar orange color of fire. It was only then that, for the first time today, that he felt fear. Fear bordering on the edge of terror. When bullets hit his massed form, they left no mark, merely smashed themselves against his hardened body and fell to the floor. Would fire do the same? Lick away at his skin, the heat never getting close enough to burn him? And what if he had to breathe? If he took a breath, not only would the flames be able to reach and char his body, but his already strained lungs would be forced to inhale the flames, burning him from the inside out.

He had to make a conscious effort to tamp down the fear and was only able to do so because he knew his life depended on it. The fear was immobilizing him. And if he remained here any longer, he'd have to breathe before he made his way out of the flames. Jesse concentrated, making sure to maintain his protective massed state. He forced his muscles to move, forced the blood to pump through his body, ignoring the body's protest and demand that everything remain still while massed. One step. Then another. He could see that the fire was already billowing outward, and so he knew that the barrier that blocked mutant powers was no longer a problem. Moving was so hard, so slow. An eternity had passed, and it felt as if he had only gone halfway. The flames still surrounded him, threatening to scald his skin and burn his already smoking clothes.

The fear became panic when another sensation hit him. He needed air, and he needed it now. Moving and forcing his blood to circulate had used up what little oxygen remained in his red blood cells. He needed air, and he needed it now.

There was only one thing he could do. Closing his eyes, he garnered what momentum he had, pushed himself forward and took a breath.


	35. Recovery

**_AN:_** Okay, super short chapter, and I was going to wait until more was done, but you all demanded more. So here it is. Almost done...  
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**_Chapter 34: Recovery

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Lexa didn't know how long she stared at the flames. However long it was, it was long enough that she had to look away at least once, lest even her eyes be burned by the bright light of the flames.

Brennan felt his eyes burning and tearing up. From the heat, of course. Jesse was fine. He had to be. He was the man of steel who could withstand a hail of bullets. But why was it taking so long?

Shalimar was conflicted. Her natural instinct was to run away from the flame. But that same instinct urged her closer, screaming at her to find the missing member of her pack. Her body compromised, standing frozen in place, eyes darting, repeatedly searching her field of vision. And that's how she found him.

A dark shadow stumbled through and from the flames over to her left, near where the back of the house had been. "Jesse!" she cried, overriding her instincts and dashing toward the flames.

She arrived just as he stumbled out to a safe distance, about 20 feet from the flames. Both her feral and human instincts had her guiding both herself and Jesse farther from the flames and as the others dashed in behind her, she took stock of Jesse's condition. He seemed to be okay. There were a couple places where his hair had been singed, and half of one eyebrow was missing. He was bent over at the waist, coughing hard, no doubt trying to clear his lungs of the smoke and ash. She caught site of several patches of embers glowing on his jacket and hesitantly tried to brush them away, finally giving up and dragging the entire jacket off his shoulders to the ground where she could stomp them out without fear of getting burned herself.

Jesse felt the jacket being dragged from his shoulders. And though he mourned the loss of one of his favorite coats, he was grateful for the protection it had provided. He'd worry about replacing it later. For now, his focus was on calming his aching lungs and soothing the burn he felt inside, though he could feel Brennan's arm around his shoulders helping to keep him upright through the hacking coughs and Lexa's smooth hands running across his face, wiping away soot and ash.

It took a few moments more for him to catch enough air to even attempt a phase so he could use his healing powers. It felt odd to use them; though he had known about them for almost four months, this was the first time he felt himself reaching for them instinctively. It was a strange experience; not unique, but not familiar either. Feeling Brennan's hand fall through his chest as he started the process by phasing, and then making sure he wasn't touching anyone else when he reversed it. After a minute more, he was able to breathe well enough that he could stand up straight. The voices of his companions, which had faded into the background of his perception as he struggled to right his body, now sharpened into focus.

"…the hell were you thinking?" Shalimar seemed to be shouting at him now that he was recovered.

"That was the stupidest thing I've ever seen you do!" Lexa admonished, slapping his shoulder.

"Dude, that rocked. I never knew you could do something like that."

Jesse decided to ignore the first two and answer the third. "To tell you the truth, Brennan, I wasn't absolutely sure I could. In theory, it seemed completely possible. It wasn't fun, but I'm glad it worked." _Note to self,_ he added silently, coughing a couple more times._ Moving while massed means I run out of air faster."_

"The fact that you didn't know if you could is all of more reason while you shouldn't have tried it," Lexa said. Now satisfied that Jesse was hearty and whole, she was angry, and stood back, arms crossed, glaring at Jesse.

Jesse looked up at her tone of voice. Seeing her face, he couldn't help but chuckle, which only infuriated Lexa more. Now that she had mellowed out some (at least compared to her personality when he first met her), and given that he knew all the buttons to push to make her relax, he found it so entertaining and endearing when she was mad at him. He'd be able to make it up to her later.

Shalimar moved over and stood beside Lexa, who reached out to slap Jesse on the arm. "Don't worry," the blond said to Lexa as she shifted her weight to one hip. "I shall devise thee brave punishments for him."

Jesse was taken slightly aback at Shal's use of Shakespeare. Brennan's strange penchant for classic literature must be rubbing off on her. But he laughed harder, as Shalimar's expression now matched Lexa.

Brennan felt the need to help Jesse put down the proverbial shovel he was using to dig himself in deeper with the girls. "All right, all right. Let's take care of this place and get out of here before the police show up. I don't really want to spend hours trying to explain to them what happened.


	36. Brave Punishments

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**AN: **Okay, the muse ran away again. That's the only viable excuse I can think of for why it took so long. And this one's for Alexis; thanks for hounding me.

Also, this is the next to last chapter. Just a little epilogue coming up. Let me know if you think there are some loose ends I forgot to tie up. However, as far as the tension betwen Adam and Jesse... that'll have to wait for the next story. I have plans for that. Mwa ha ha! So, with out further ado... the next chapter of The List

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Chapter 35: Brave Punishments

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Brennan let out a whistle as he lowered the Helix into its "parking spot" in the hanger. "Power off, clamps locked. All secure," he said, flipping a few last switches. He unsnapped the harness that he usually only remembered to wear when they weren't in a hurry, and followed the others as they gratefully stepped out of the aircraft and back into their home. He shook his head in disbelief yet again. "Man, I still can't believe she went out like that," he said as he stepped down into the hanger.

"Who went out like what?" Adam's voice rang out in the spacious and echoing hanger. Shalimar watched as he approached, the heels of his boots ringing out on the metal plated floors. She noted how his eyes swept over all four of them, as if assuring himself that everything was well, though they had already told him as much. And though he seemed careful not to reveal it, Shalimar also saw how his gaze lingered on Jesse, taking in his scorched jacket and hair, a fraction of frustration and displeasure entering his eyes for a half second. _That's it_, she thought. _As soon as this gets wrapped up and we get some rest, I'm going to _make_ those two talk to each other. _

"Holly Jacobs," Brennan answered. "Definitely not a way I'd want to go. And it's so cliché."

Adam raised an eyebrow. "Would someone care to elaborate?"

Lexa, who, although Jesse had mended her ankle, was still leaning against him, stopped, forcing Jesse to do the same. She looked over to Adam. "Holly got T-boned at the intersection half a block away from the house."

"The security camera at the convenience store on the corner confirms that she ran a red light," Jesse added. "I'm just glad the guy in the other car as wearing his seatbelt and got away with only a broken leg."

"It was weird," Brennan said. "And just like all those TV shows and movies where the bad guy seemingly gets away, but then BOOM! They get nailed by some random accident in some strange sense of poetic justice."

"Are you guys all okay?"

Brennan shrugged. "We're fine. Nothing we couldn't handle," he said casually as they resumed their walk back into the main areas of Sanctuary. Then he broke down. "Aw, you should have seen it, Adam," he said excitedly. "First we take out her little henchmen. Boom, boom, bam! They go down like that!" He snapped his fingers. "Then Holly gets away and we're trapped in one of those little anti-mutant power force fields, and there's this bomb ticking away with like two minutes left, right?" By now, Brennan had really gotten into the story, explaining it to both Adam and David, who had met them at the door to the hanger.

"Holly pulls her whole, 'I'm the villain, you can't win' spiel, but nothing can stop us. Shalimar figures out that the field only goes up, not over us. Then Lexa uses her lasers to take out the ceiling, and I jet propel us out of there, over the 50 foot barrier. We kicked some serious ass."

Adam frowned. He did another quick once over of all his charges. "All right, everyone into medbay. Even if Jesse did use his magic touch on all of you, I want to take a look, make sure you guys didn't get accidentally dosed by a strange chemical or something."

Shalimar looked over to Brennan, who shrugged. Might as well indulge him, the action seemed to say, as they continued their walk to the medbay.

Adam paused to push open the glass door. "You say that you used your power of propulsion to lift all four of you out of there? I didn't think you could generate that much force

Brennan blinked and shifted his weight. "Well, I can't. Not for all four of us, anyway. But I got the girls out and Mr. Invincible here stayed behind and massed himself through the fire after the explosion took out the force field."

"Not quite invincible," Jesse corrected, indicating the scorched suede coat he had slung over one shoulder.

Katie came over from where she had been monitoring Jessica's unmoving form. Putting a hand on her brother's shoulder, she, too, seemed to look Jesse over for injuries.

He put one hand over hers while putting his coat down with the other. "I'm fine, Katie. Jeez, I'm the only one here who can actually heal himself and everyone looks at me like I'm the walking wounded."

That statement seemed to get everyone off his back. Adam had Lexa hop up on the second biobed and began to double check Jesse's handiwork. "Did you guys get a chance to talk to any of the local authorities? Get an idea of what they're going to put in the report?"

Shalimar nodded. "Once we were out of the building and saw what had happened to Holly, Brennan went back and blew the gas main."

Jesse sat back in one of the chairs. "It should give the cops reason enough to believe that it was an accident, since Brennan fried the electrical panel next to the gas line. Plus, any the gas will burn or cover up any traces left of the C4 that she used. It should look like a simple accidental fire. I'll follow up on it tomorrow, just to make sure that's what the report says."

Adam nodded and finished scanning Lexa's ankle, which he proclaimed to be good as new.

"As far as the other bodies in the house, we took what was left of them to a safehouse. We can identify them there and notify their families later," Lexa said, flexing the joint and then hopping down from the bed. "And Jesse checked out Holly's car and body before the police and fire departments got there, cleared out anything that might lead them to us. When they asked why he was there, he told them he was trained in first aid and was trying to help."

Adam looked over to Jesse. "Did you come up with anything?"

Jesse nodded and dug into his coat pocket. "Just these," he said, holding up a small minidisk and cell phone. "I'll see what I can get off of them. Maybe we can figure out why the hell she was doing all this."

Adam sighed and had Shalimar hop up onto the bed next. "We may never know, Jess. That's one thing I really hate about all of this. About everything. People die before we can find out why."

"She did it because you're all mistakes. And you need to learn your place."

They whirled at the sound of Jessica's voice. The young woman was sitting up and sliding off the bed. For a moment, her knees seemed to buckle, but she caught herself.

"Jessica," David started to say.

"Shut up, Peter. You're the worse than all of them. You're the traitor."

"Jessica, you aren't thinking clearly. You're still off you're medication."

"You guys are the ones not thinking clearly. Don't you see? Mutants are dangerous, so there's an order, and they need to be controlled." She reached out and grabbed Shalimar's arm.

Shalimar looked at Jessica with sadness and pity in her eyes. "Your powers won't work with the governor in, Jessica," she said, pulling her arm away and putting her hands on Jessica's shoulders. "You're a mutant too, you know. Do you really want someone else controlling your life?"

Jessica remained tense, her gaze dancing over them. "Just relax," Brennan said, holding out a hand. "We want to help you."

"No," she shrieked, wrenching away from Shalimar's grip and backing into one corner of the room. "It's not the same for me. Only mother can help. She knows."

Jesse held took a step closer. "Jessica, I know how you're feeling. But your mother's gone."

"No!" she shrieked again. She flailed out, knocking some of the tools off the counter. "You killed her, I know you did!"

"Jessica!" Adam said authoritatively. "Just calm down. We didn't do anything to her. It was an accident."

"There was nothing they could have done," David said. He wondered if he should try to get close enough to touch her; maybe he could calm her down from the inside. He reached out…

"No." Jessica stated in an eerily calm and determined voice. "I'll never let you take me." Pulling her hand from her back, she revealed the small scalpel she had swiped from the countertop moments ago. Quickly, inelegantly, she stabbed herself in the neck and dragged the blade across her throat. Blood poured from the open wound, and she was down on the ground before anyone had a chance to get to her.

Jesse and Adam quickly turned her body over, both reaching to stop the flow and check for a pulse.

Two seconds passed, and they heard Adam say softly, "She's gone."

Brennan shook his head. "No way. Not that fast. Jesse can heal her, I can jump start her heart, right?"

There was silence for a few moments longer, and then Adam shook his head as he and Jesse lifted Jessica's now limp body onto the med bay. "Her body was already fragile. It doesn't take long to bleed out, either."

Brennan looked over at Jesse for confirmation.

Jesse nodded as he found something to clean his hands. "Adam's right. I'd have to repair all that damage before you could shock her. Given her current body chemistry, her weakened state, and the intensity of that wound… There was nothing we could do." He dried his hands with a cloth and tossed it violently into the biohazards box. "Damn. I hate when we lose."

Brennan felt Shalimar's arm snake around his back. "Me too," he said softly.


	37. Epilogue: Closing Time

**_AN_**_: Well, here it is - the end...

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_**_ Chapter 36: Closing Time

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_"David? Where are you?"_

David turned from where he sat in a deck chair on the third floor balcony of the mansion, a glass of ice water on the table next to him. _"I'm out here on the third floor balcony," h e replied._ "I'm over here," he said aloud when he saw Jesse poke his head out the sliding glass door a moment later.

Jesse ambled his way over and sat in a nearby chair. The two friends sat side by side, relaxing in the late summer sun. They said nothing, neither physically or telepathically.

Finally, Jesse let his head tilt back and closed his eyes. "Man, the sun feels good."

David smiled. "I know what you mean. I've tried to get outside at least twice a day since I've been here."

It had been only two weeks since Jesse and David had been reunited. And only one week since the deaths of Holly Jacobs and Jessica Woodbury. Life had finally slowed down. Loose ends had been tied up, and there had only been two calls from mutants on the run needing help, both of which were easily taken care of. Thus, they'd all gotten a chance to get some much needed sleep.

Shalimar and Brennan had taken the bodies of the two women back to their families. Jessica had been buried next to her father. Holly's parents had decided to have her cremated and interred in the family plot. The bodies of the four henchmen who had died in the fire had also been identified and returned to their families for proper burials. Since all four had been members of the Dominion, and had feed their families similar stories about being part of government work, it was easy to convince the families that the men had been tragic victims of a top secret industrial accident.

Lexa had followed up with the authorities' official investigation of the explosion. As predicted, the explosion had been blamed on faulty wiring too close to a gas line, and the car accident had been deemed the result of Holly's reckless driving. It only took one small hint – Lexa made sure the police found the camera outside the convenience store – to make sure the two investigations were closed quickly.

Katie and David had gone car shopping. Her car had been totaled by Josef Stalin's attack. They hadn't bothered to take the car to the insurance company. The bullet holes and massive dents and scratches would have raised too many questions. Katie was very happy with her new Honda Hybrid. Katie had also reminded David to replace the broken window and doorframe in his office. The work had been done by companies that Mutant X frequently used. They did the work and didn't ask questions, simply because most of the workers _were_ mutants trying to live a normal life.

Jesse had started analyzing the disc and cell phone he'd found on Holly. The phone hadn't been much help. The few numbers that weren't blocked were ones they were either already familiar with, or for the local electronics or pizza store. The disc had been encrypted, and had frustrated Jesse for a good day and a half. Lexa and Adam had managed to convince him to let it go for a while, as it wasn't extremely important right now, so he wouldn't drive himself crazy. Then yesterday, during a sparring session with Brennan, Jesse had an epiphany – and nearly gotten himself clocked in the process. Later, he explained that most hackers have a signature – certain processes they prefer or tendencies they have. It was a good bet, he said, that the same person who created the virus Holly used to attack them earlier had also encrypted the disc. So, using the data he'd gleaned from the virus that had attacked their system earlier, Jesse had managed to crack the encryption. The disc had yielded its contents: locations and passwords for Dominion meeting points. The team was going to start investigating them tomorrow.

Jesse looked over to David, squinting in the glare of the setting summer sun. "How do you manage to find the time to get out that often?"

"It's not easy." David shrugged. "With all that's happening around here plus the work I've got to do for Kilmartin Enterprises, there's not a lot of spare time. But it's harder staying indoors for too long. I'm not used to the claustrophobia yet, like you are. Katie joins me sometimes," he added absently.

"You know her pretty well, don't you?"

David nodded. Peering over at Jesse, he said, "Actually, I've known her longer than I've known you. You and I are close in a different way. But, yeah, I've known her a long time." He trailed off.

Jesse smiled. "Yeah, yeah. Just treat her right. I'm not blind," he added, seeing David blanch a bit as he realized that Jesse knew the nature of his relationship with Katie. "I don't want to have to pull the whole big brother act on one of my best friends if you hurt her, Pete."

David leaned back and raised an eyebrow at Jesse as he took a sip of his water.

Jesse caught the silence. "Damn. I did it again, didn't I?"

David nodded and started laughing.

"Hey," Jesse said, sitting up. "You try learning a new name for one of your closest friends. David, David, David," he chanted to himself. "One of these days I'll get it."

"Hey, boys. There you two are."

Both Jesse and David turned at the sound of Shalimar's voice.

"I thought you were supposed to be calling David down to dinner, Jess. Not lounging around out here." She fake pounced on her friend, giving him a little punishment for not doing what he was told.

Jesse smiled sheepishly as he playfully got himself out of Shalimar's hold. "Sorry, Shal. I kind of forgot."

"Well, you're forgiven. Now, come on. We'd better get down before Brennan decides to help Lexa with the rolls."

Jesse practically leapt out of the chair. "Come on, let's go, David."

David chuckled as he lifted himself out of the deck chair. "Why, does Brennan not cook very well?"

"No, he's a halfway decent cook. It's when you throw an electric oven into the mix that things get wacky."

Jesse led the way down the stairs. "He likes to speed up the cooking time by juicing up the oven with some of his own power. End result is usually –"

Jesse was interrupted by the shrill, beeping sound of the fire alarm resonating through the house.

"Well, David," Shalimar said, putting an around his shoulders. "Hope you like your rolls extra crispy."

David laughed heartily, following Jesse and Shalimar down the stairs to his new family.

THE END

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**AN: **Thanks to all who reviewed and read the story. I hope you all enjoyed it. And props to Alexis, who haggled me, O so much, to get this story finished. This story grew out of my earlier story, The Resurrection, and ended up much longer than I thought, so thanks again for sticking with me throughout the whole adventure.. And it's not over yet! The next step in the Trilogy (?): Murphy's Law.

Coming up in Murphy's Law (which I have no idea when I'll start posting, since I haven't even started writing it yet. Plus, there's a rather crucial element of the plot I need to decide how to write):

The reason for all the tension between Jesse and Adam;

The return of the Dominion;

The discovery of a plan so deep it goes all the way to the top;

The death of a beloved character;

And the return of a friend long since gone.


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